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Developing Countries Get Free Access to Journals
Starting this month, six major publishing houses will give medical schools and research institutions in developing countries access to almost a thousand medical journals over the Internet either free of cost or at steeply discounted rates. The World Health Organization (WHO) organized the initiative as part of a project sponsored by the United Nations.
The medical journals involved, published by Blackwell, Elsevier Science, the Harcourt Worldwide STM Group, Wolters Kluwer International Health and Science, Springer Verlag, and John Wiley, cost an average of several hundred dollars an issue, with some priced at more than $1,500 a year. These prices make it all but impossible for health and research organizations in poor countries to get critical information, says the WHO.
Under the new program, a sliding scale will be employed: institutions in countries whose per-capita gross nation-al product (GNP) is less than $1,000 a year will get the journals at no cost, while medical schools in countries whose per-capita GNP is between $1,000 and $3,000 will pay a minimal charge. The cost to the publishers will be small, because providing online access to additional users will not significantly increase their production expenses. Several journals, including the British Medical Journal, have made their content available free for years.
"It is perhaps the biggest step ever taken toward reducing the health information gap between rich and poor countries," stated Gro Harlem Bruntland, the director general of the WHO.
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