Report to the Inter Academy Panel by the Inter Academy Medical Panel

1. Report to the Inter Academy Panel by the Inter Academy Medical Panel Alexandria, Egypt 6 November 2006 Professor Anthony MBewu Co-chair, InterAcademy Medical Panel President, Medical Research Council of South Africa www.iamp-online.org

2. Second Global Meeting of the IAMP • The InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP) was initiated on May 19, 2000 at the meeting of InterAcademy Panel (IAP) of the Academies of Science held in Tokyo, Japan • The 2nd Global Meeting of the IAMP was held in conjunction with The Disease Control Priorities Project (DCPP) Publications Launch on April 3 - 6, 2006, at the Beijing Hotel in Beijing, China • Over 320 policymakers, international health experts, journalists, and scientists from 49 countries attended this landmark event. The conference program illuminated to a global audience the importance of setting well-defined health priorities and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based interventions • Members of the IAMP, served as the Advisory Committee to the Editors of DCPP • The 2nd Global Meeting of the IAMP featured in-depth presentations and discussions of the DCPP scientific content and related topics such as avian influenza and road traffic safety • The IAMP General Assembly was held on 6th April and 42 IAMP member academies were represented on this occasion

3. Executive Committee 2006-2009 Co-chairs Guy de Thé, Académie de Médicine, France Anthony MBewu, Academy of Sciences of South Africa Members • African Academy of Sciences • Chinese Academy of Engineering • Accademia dei Lincei, Italy • Science Council of Japan • Mexican Academy of Medicine • Polish Academy of Sciences • Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences • Institute of Medicine, US NAS Secretariat and Ex-officio member The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Trieste, Italy

4. Member Academies • Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires • Academy of Medical Sciences of Armenia • The National Academy of Sciences, Armenia • Australian Academy of Science • Austrian Academy of Sciences • Bangladesh Academy of Sciences • Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine • Federation of European Academies of Medicine • Academia Boliviana de Medicina • Academia Nacional de Medicina, Brazil • Brazilian Academy of Sciences • Cameroon Academy of Sciences • Canadian Academy of Health Sciences • Academia Chilena de Medicina • Chinese Academy of Engineering • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) • Academia Nacional de Medicina de Colombia • Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences • Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts • Cuban Academy of Sciences

5. Member Academies • Académie des Sciences • Académie des Technologies, France • Union of German Academies of Sciences & Humanities • The German Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina • Academy of Athens • Hungarian Academy of Sciences • National Academy of Medical Sciences, India • Indonesian Academy of Sciences • Academy of Medical Sciences, Iran • Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei • TWAS • Science Council of Japan • African Academy of Sciences • Kenya National Academy of Sciences • The National Academy of Sciences, Rep. of Korea • Latvian Academy of Sciences Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic • Academy of Scientific Research & Technology • The Delegation of the Finnish Academies of Science & Letters • Académie Nationale de MédecineLithuanian Academy of Sciences • Macedonian Academy of Sciences & Arts • Academy of Sciences Malaysia • National Academy of Medicine of Mexico

6. Member Academies • Mongolian Academy of Sciences • The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences • Nigerian Academy of Sciences • Norwegian Academy of Sciences & Letters • Palestine Academy for Science & Technology National Academy of Science & Technology, Philippines • Polish Academy of Sciences • The Caribbean Academy of Sciences • Russian Academy of Medical Sciences • Académie des Sciences et Techniques, Sénégal • Slovak Academy of Science • Slovenian Academy of Sciences & Arts • Academy of Science of South Africa • National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka • Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences • Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences • Turkish Academy of Sciences • Uganda National Academy Sciences • Academy of Medical Sciences • Institute of Medicine, US NAS

7. The Mother-Child International Research Network Lead:Prof. Richard Hamilton, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences • This project uses novel communications technology to foster collaboration between maternal and child scientists in low-income and high-income countries • Its core facility, the www.mother-child.org website now provides free, secure, easy access in English, French or Spanish to a directory of member scientists and weblog capacity for efficient scientist-to-scientist dialogue • In the next 3 years, they plan to recruit a growing number of active scientists to participate in the Network using links with existing networks and through presentations, publications, and individual contacts, generate productive scientist-to-scientist discussions via weblogs with an emphasis on nutritional disorders and infections and ultimately shift project leadership to developing world scientists – a global “virtual” research institute • The potential benefits of this network should be most appealing to scientists in low income regions where crippling professional isolation impedes their productivity • The IAMP, its website, and its affiliated academies can provide a network node for dissemination of information, by providing names of potential participants, and actual, committed, registered members

8. Reducing Perinatal and Maternal Mortality in Low Income Countries Lead: Prof. Jan Lindsten, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences • Mortality and morbidity of children and their mothers during the perinatal period remain very high in many poor countries (perinatal and maternal mortality – PMM) • The reasons include cultural, economic, medical and social factors; as well as inefficient health care systems, such as poor management and organisational structure, insufficient professional care and inadequate quality management • They propose to promote reform in the health system in poor countries in order to reduce PMM : • Each participating academy appoints a Working Group (10-12 members) consisting of (i) academy members or (ii) other research workers in their own country, plus (iii) experts within the field of PMM from the poor country(ies) to be studied • A workshop is organised with all Working Groups involved in order to (i) plan for the lay-out of the investigation and analyses of the current situation in the participating poor countries to be studied, and to (ii) prepare an application for a research grant for the project as a whole • After completion of the data collection in the different countries involved another workshop might have to be organised when (i) the results of the data analysis are presented, (ii) changes to reduce PMM are proposed, and (iii) a grant application for the cost of the implementation and follow-up of the changes is prepared • Later workshops should be held in order to analyse the effects of the implemented changes.

9. Workshops on Scientific Writing for Young Scientists and Clinicians Lead: Prof. G. B. Okelo, African Academy of Sciences • English has become the international language of education, research and computer technology • The precise presentation of scientific ideas and results is a critical component of professional success especially for young scientists • Good scientific writing can help to maximize the accuracy and impact of written documents to enhance scientific publication and fund-raising efforts • Scientific papers and books require high levels of precision and accuracy and scientists must become experts in the field of scientific writing to make their work effective • Proposal : to hold a series of workshop on scientific writing in English aimed principally at young health scientists and Clinicians from the developing world. The initial project would be conducted in Africa. Following that, regional workshops would be organized in Asia and Latin America

10. Control of Rheumatic Fever & Rheumatic Heart Disease in Developing Countries Lead: Dr. A. MBewu Academy of Sciences of South Africa • Over the last 150 years the developed world has experienced a dramatic decline in the incidence and prevalence of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD) caused by streptococcal throat infections • This is thought to have occurred as a result of improved living conditions and the widespread use of penicillin for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis, of prophylaxis to prevent rheumatic fever, and cardiology services for those with established rheumatic heart disease as a sequel to rheumatic fever • However, RF/RHD remains a major global problem in developing countries where RHD is the most common cardiovascular disease affecting children and young adults in the world • The tools therefore to deal with this problem are available, but are not evenly spread across the developing countries where this disease is still endemic • Research on better implementation of primary and secondary prevention is needed; as well health systems and health economics research that could underpin improved access to prevention and treatment • The Inter Academy Medical Panel and World Heart Federation have prepared a draft MOU; and would welcome the involvement of other parties in this ambitious programme

11. Health Care Quality in a Global Perspective Lead; Dr. D. Challoner, Institute of Medicine, US NAS • The US Institute of Medicine (IOM) has undertaken an extensive multi-year project to attempt to understand health care quality primarily in a domestic US context. Its first report ‘ To Err is Human” had significant international impact as well • The IOM proposes to be Lead Academy in a future IAMP project to evaluate quality issues in health care globally : • Are there common themes across the borders ? • How do cultural values modify societal expectations ? • What notions a re applicable and where ? • What are the cost/benefits and how do they vary ? • Are there common objectives and processes ? • The aim is to attempt to answer these and similar questions of interest to both professionals and governments • An international group will assist the development of the project with input from IAMP member academies to develop a final proposal for fundraisers

12. On the Control of Emerging Infections Lead: Dr. P.Santos-Ocampo (Philippines) Dr. WEN Yu Mei (China) Dr. P. Lachmann (UK) Dr. CHEN Zhu (China) • Emerging infections have presented a great threat to human health in the last 25 years. For example HIV/AIDS, SARS and Avian flu • There are numerous efforts in place to provide surveillance, prophylaxis and treatment, where available • Nevertheless, there remain substantial problems in epidemiology, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology and others • The IAMP, with academies all over the world with high levels of expertise in these areas, is in a strong position to convene a high-powered independent international working group to look into these problems related to emerging infections and possibly in association with other concerned agencies, to conduct a detailed study to identify questions for investigation, i.e transmissibility, pathogenesis, the use of vaccines, antiretrovirals drugs and other modalities of treatment, containment and preparedness

13. Conclusions • One of the major challenges facing the Executive Committee of IAMP will be raising funds to implement the 7 projects, as well as to run the Secretariat, website, and Executive Committee meetings • The IAMP is very grateful for the support, both financial and technical, that it has received from the IAP since its inception • Member Academies will need to continue to contribute in proportion to their means to ensure that the IAMP maintains its independence as a ‘global brains trust’ encompassing some of the best minds in medicine and health, whilst functioning smoothly with adequate resources • The IAMP will need to deepen its links with other global scientific bodies such as IAP and WHO, in order to avoid duplication in its projects; and to strengthen the impact of its programmes