Ongoing Work 



These diseases fall roughly into three categories 

 with respect to the knowledge and resources needed to 

 deal with them. In the first category are diseases 

 such as malaria and schistosomiasis for which existing 

 methods of field control have only limited 

 effectiveness- Likewise, the live vaccine for polio is 

 reported to be ineffective in many instances. These 

 diseases require extensive laboratory and field 

 research. 



The second category includes diseases such as 

 measles and some nutritional deficiencies for which 

 methods of control are fully developed and effective 

 but reach only a limited part of the population. In 

 these instances, more effective delivery systems must 

 be developed. 



A third category concerns health problems such as 

 malnutrition, large and poorly spaced families, and 

 unsanitary living conditions, where social changes are 

 needed more than technological innovation. Here more 

 social science research is needed on involving 

 communities in new forms of health-related activities 

 and on developing more effective delivery systems for 

 preventive health information. 



Although past research at U.S. institutions has not 

 been as extensive as it might have been, work on 

 infectious diseases is currently underway at several 

 universities and federal government agencies such as 

 NIH and the Center for Disease Control, and specialized 

 research facilities such as the Gorgas Memorial 

 Laboratory and the U.S. Army and Navy Laboratories. 



An analogous set of university, industrial, and 

 government research institutions exists in Europe and, 

 to a lesser extent, in the developing countries 

 themselves. some of the internationally funded medical 

 research institutes located in developing countries are 

 the proposed International Centre for Health Research 

 (formerly Cholera Research Lab) in Dacca (supported in 

 part by NIH and AID) , the International Center for 

 Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, and national 

 or regional institutions in India, the Philippines, 

 Thailand, and elsewhere. Four relevant WHO programs 

 are the Special Programme for Research and Training in 

 Tropical Diseases (WHO 1977) , the Expanded Programme 

 for Immunization (WHO 1976a) , the World Bank-funded 

 Onchocerciasis Control Project in West Africa (WHO 

 1976b), and the new Special Programme for Appropriate 

 Technology. As one part of its program, the 

 Intermediate Technology Group, based in London, is 

 seeking to adapt existing technologies and to identify 

 needed new technologies of relevance primarily to 

 health delivery in developing countries. 



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