A notable aspect of the Bamako Ministerial Forum was that, while it attracted a lot of comment before it took place (and also during the event itself) internet searches suggest that very little has been said about it since. It is, however, important to keep the momentum going and to ensure that the Call to Action is not ignored.

Writing a few days after the end of the meeting, Martin McKee - Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - asked ‘What happens next?’. In an (more…)

The Bamako Ministerial Forum called for funders and development agencies “to better align, coordinate, and harmonize the global health research architecture and its governance through the rationalization of existing organizations, to improve coherence and impact, and to increase efficiencies and equity”. What might this rationalization actually involve?

An article in the Lancet has proposed that six research-related organizations are merged. (The article was summarized on TropIKA.net).

Is this a reasonable suggestion or would it be taking rationalization too far? Would there be opposition from the bodies that the writers of the article want to see merged? Would such a big new organization be too powerful or be bogged down by its own bureaucracy?

The proposal certainly needs to be discussed and nothing should be done until there has been a proper debate. TropIKA.net offers an excellent forum for such debate. Let us know what you think.

Comment on the Bamako meeting continues to come in. Robert Walgate, writing in the BMJ, says that ‘Developing countries should have a greater say in local research agendas’.

The article includes positive comment from participants in the meeting. However, Robert Walgate notes that there was disappointment that the important issue of intellectual property was barely mentioned.

The article is not open access but those with a subscription to the BMJ may see it here.

A Lancet editorial (1) has commented on the Bamako meeting and the Call for Action. The journal was a partner in the meeting and has now published a number of articles refering to it.

The editorial takes a very positive view of the meeting saying that delegates dealt with the issues with concern, comiitment and creativity. It takes the view that substantial advances have been made on the previous meeting in Mexico and concludes that Bamako was, ‘an example of what can be achieved through patient and persistent engagement. 2009 must be the year when the promises of Bamako are acted upon.’

Reference
1. Editorial. The Bamako call to action: research for health. The Lancet, Volume 372, Issue 9653, Page 1855, 29 November 2008. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61789-4

The BMJ blog is often worth a look. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Fiona Godlee, has used it to give a personal view of the Bamako meeting, which she attended. It may be accessed here.

Fiona Godlee seems sceptical about aspects of the meeting. She describes the Call to Action as being ‘better than some had feared’. However, her own fear is that at the next meeting, in four years time, delagates will be having the same conversations.

A contribution to the blog of The Global Economic Governance Programme (based at the University of Oxford, UK) discuses the Bamako meeting, speaking of its outcome as ‘a victory for equity over efficiency’. The blogger, Rajaie Batniji, also comments on the surprising absence of the Gates Foundation.

Read the blog here.

Please draw our attention to other comments on the meeting which come to your attention, so that we may link to them from TropIKA.net.

During the conference I have heard murmurings of displeasure with the organization, complaints of incompetence, poor administration, and resignations that the above is to be expected in Africa. In the face of all this adversity, Mali should be applauded for its capacity to host such a large, important, international conference. As an African myself, I know what we lack in both technical and human capacity, we make up for in our ability to thrive in adversity. The road to success is turbulent but our determination to reach our final destination is strong and unyielding.

I think all the conference delegates can agree with me when I say the reception in Mali has been very warm and welcoming. We have been treated as royalty, from the VIP welcome on arrival at the airport to police escorts when we move around the various conference venues. The demeanor of the people is extremely open and friendly. My pathetic attempts to speak French has certainly kept our hosts and hostesses, conference organizers, taxi drivers, catering staff and security personnel amused. These courageous efforts of mine, I am sure are a great disappointment to my high school French teacher. But given the difficulties with language, we still manage to get around but maybe I owe this to the French speakers in the TropIKA team.

My family and friends have been calling and emailing me, asking me what is Mali like? I still have not comfortably come up with an accurate description of Mali, Mali is all things at once, a melting point of old traditions and modern technology. There is a strong Muslim element to Mali that can be seen in the mosques that dot the city, the attire of people in the streets, and least I not forget the early morning call prayers that remind me, I only have a few more hours sleep. I work in veil of air conditioned comfort and only experience the soaring temperatures when I make a quick dash to a meeting room. The heat and aridity does not support much in terms of vegetation but the wide highways are lined with palm trees giving Bamako a tropical ambience. The landscape is mainly flat which is dissected by the extensive Niger River and low lying hills can be seen in the background. When crossing the street, one has to be careful to check the left side of the road and keep a look out for the motorbikes wheezing around at great speed. It appears there are more motorbikes on the road than cars and they daringly move in between the traffic at break necking speed.

Bamako is a bright city not only because of the blaring sun but the beautifully colored attire that people wear. The female dress is majestic while the men’s is stately and imposing. The anniversary dinner at the National Museum last night, was a lavish display of culinary treats from across Mali. It was a wild adventure for my taste buds and a fascinating gastronomic experience far removed from the Western cuisine being served during the conference lunch.  We have been treated to various musical displays during the opening ceremony and the anniversary dinner. Malian music is performed with both traditional and modern instruments. It is pleasing to the ear, rhythmic, melodic and hypnotic

All of this I have only been able to view from the window of my hotel room, taxis and buses, and experience within the confines of the conference centre. I look forward to my day off on Thursday when I will be able to trade my skirt and jacket for shorts and sneakers, grab my English-French book and explore the streets of Bamako. The guide book highlights the botanical gardens, prehistoric grottos with cave paintings, traditional “Pinasse” boat excursions, and Ali Baba style markets. Tomorrow, I will thoroughly immerse myself in the spirit of Mali, sample the food, dance to the music, fashion myself in local attire, and engage with the people.

The international news media continues to be slow in covering the 2008 Global Ministerial Forum
on Research for Health. However, there are brief articles about the event from the African Press Organization and China View (article available in French only).

What can be done to get the media to take more notice of events like this one and the issues which they seek to address? Respond to this blog to make your views more widely known.

Just published and highly relevant to the Bamako meeting is a new report from Oxfam - Crisis in Public Health: Promoting pro-poor medical innovation

Oxfam says money is still being misspent and calls for new approaches to be developed. According to the report: “…it is a combined responsibility of all countries to find ways to ensure global R&D is organized to improve human health; inability to pay should not disenfranchise a large majority of the world’s population from access to effective healthcare.”

The report will be considered in more detail on TropIKA.net shortly. Meanwhile an Oxfam press release is available here and the report in full may be accessed here.

How much attention will the world’s press pay to the 2008 Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health in Bamako? The issues being addressed are crucial to the health of the world’s poorest people but so often such matters do not seem to interest the media. A search on the net today reveals very little in the way of pre-meeting coverage.

It is good therefore to see a report that three Sierra Leonean journalists will be present at the meeting. Other countries from which there will be journalists attending include Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal, Russia, Ivory Coast, Benin and Palestine.

Read the full report here.