The internet is reaching developing nations, and all major
health journals and other journals are moving on to the internet. Soon
full text articles will be available through the internet - at a
price.
The price is too high for developing countries. Moreover, journals are
afraid that if their works are freely accessible their paid
subscription base will dry up.
There is a solution: an internet server with targeted access. Thus
the BMJ could be made available exclusively to Uganda,
Bolivia, and Peru. An agricultural, psychology, or chemistry journal
might decide to target Mongolia, parts of the Sudan, and Haiti.
Opening the door will allow information to flow from developing
countries as well. For example, developing countries represent over
25% of the scientists in the world, but Medline showed that in 1992-6
the BMJ had only 0.4% of the publications mentioning
developing countries, the Lancet 0.6%, and the
New England Journal of Medicine 0.05%. Providing access
to and communication with journals for scientists in developing
countries will probably increase the numbers of publications and their
quality and speed of publication.
This system is secure. A person in London could not go electronically
to Rwanda to read Nature. Preparation cost is almost
nothing because most information is on line, or soon will be. It is
unlikely to affect revenues as the countries gaining access would be
those from which there are few if any subscriptions; it could in fact
build markets. It is flexible in that new countries could easily be
added or deleted and the type of information could readily be changed.
Most importantly, it is humane.
We of the Global Health Network have already contacted 10 leading
journals in health, and all of them have agreed to start the electronic
flow of journals to developing countries.
What information should be available? The journal and scientists
could
decide what information is needed in the developing countries; as much
information as possible could be put on to the internet because costs
are nearly nothing; or everything could be put up and then evaluated
according to which information is "hit" the most.
The local researcher need not have full, high bandwidth web
capabilities. The journals can be read with text only. Alternatively,
the feed could be to major libraries, with distribution by photocopy,
fax, or even word of mouth. The systems often exist, but little journal
content flows down the pipes.
The model of the targeted server will be available at
http://www.pitt.edu/HOME/GHNet/GHNet.html. Within one year the exchange
of journal information from developing and developed countries could
change from a trickle to a tsunami.
Ronald E LaPorte on behalf of the Global Health
Network
Professor
Graduate School of Public Health,
Department of Epidemiology,
University of Pittsburgh,
5th Floor,
3460 Fifth Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15213,
USA
