Resumo em Inglês:

Research trends in the Region of the Americas and the technical cooperation of PAHO in this field were examined at the XXXI Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Health Research (ACHR). Changes in demographic profiles and in morbidity and mortality patterns have led to new ways of organizing health care and scientific research. There is also a new scientific paradigm that represents a departure from the conventional positivism and makes allowances for the complexity of natural social and historical processes. The State no longer plays the leading role in the development of science and technology, and the resources from international banks more often are being directed at consolidating the link between producers and users of knowledge and technology, and less at support of universities and resource training. The Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank have approved projects with a total cost of nearly US$ 2 000 million, almost all of which is to be used to finance the reorganization of health systems. Regarding the allocation of national funds, the science and technology sector receives between 0.24% and 0.75% of the gross domestic product in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela, in contrast to 2.7% in developed countries. The ACHR outlined objectives and plans to strengthen the research capability of the Region's countries in the next four years.

Resumo em Inglês:

The World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen the theme "Emerging Infectious Diseases--Global Alert, Global Response" for this year's World Health Day to call attention to the threat posed by infectious diseases that have been recently recognized in humans or that are making a comeback. Factors in the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases include deterioration of public health infrastructure, increasing microbial resistance to antibiotics, and social and ecological changes associated with human population growth. WHO emphasizes the need for committed partnerships among countries, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals to improve disease surveillance and control capabilities in order to prevent and contain epidemics. For its part, WHO is strengthening the existing three-pronged global monitoring system, consisting of the WHO Collaborating Centers in the area of infectious diseases, the antimicrobial resistance monitoring networks, and the International Health Regulations. To adequately confront the problem of infectious diseases in the next century, there is a need for strong national disease surveillance and control programs; global disease monitoring and alert networks; rapid information exchange through electronic links, including the World Wide Web; and effective preparedness and rapid response capability to contain epidemics.