In developing countries, mortality among the under-fives is greatest during infancy. Limited data indicate that about 80% of these infant deaths occur in the first 6 months of life and two-thirds of the postneonatal deaths occur before 6 months. These findings strongly suggest that more attention should be focused on the causes of death in the very young infant.

In developing countries, health information system (HIS) is experiencing more and more difficulties to produce quality data. The lack of reliable health related information makes it difficult to develop effective health policies. In order to understand the organization of HIS in African countries, we undertook a literature review.

Developing countries have limited healthcare resources and use different strategies to diagnose breast cancer. Most of the population depends on the public healthcare system, which affects the diagnosis of the tumor. Thus, the indicators observed in developed countries cannot be directly compared with those observed in developing countries because the healthcare infrastructures in developing countries are deficient. The aim of this study was to evaluate breast cancer screening strategies and indicators in developing countries. A systematic review and the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Timing, and Setting methodology were performed to identify possible indicators of presentation at diagnosis and the methodologies used in developing countries. We searched PubMed for the terms "Breast Cancer" or "Breast Cancer Screening" and "Developing Country" or "Developing Countries". In all, 1,149 articles were identified. Of these articles, 45 full articles were selected, which allowed us to identify indicators related to epidemiology, diagnostic intervention (diagnostic strategy, diagnostic infrastructure, percentage of women undergoing mammography), quality of intervention (presentation of symptoms at diagnosis, time to diagnosis, early stage disease), comparisons (trend curves, subpopulations at risk) and survival among different countries. The identification of these indicators will improve the reporting of methodologies used in developing countries and will allow us to evaluate improvements in public health related to breast cancer.

Improved sanitation has been shown to have great impacts on people's health and economy. However, the progress of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on halving the proportion of people without access to clean water and basic sanitation by 2015 has thus far been delayed. One of the reasons for the slow progress is that policy makers, as well as the general public, have not fully understood the importance of the improved sanitation solutions. This paper, by gathering relevant research findings, aims to report and discuss currently available evidence on the economic aspects of sanitation, including the economic impacts of unimproved sanitation and the costs and economic benefits of some common improved sanitation options in developing countries.

Developing countries can generate effective solutions for today's global health challenges. This paper reviews relevant literature to construct the case for international cooperation, and in particular, developed-developing country partnerships. Standard database and web-based searches were conducted for publications in English between 1990 and 2010. Studies containing full or partial data relating to international cooperation between developed and developing countries were retained for further analysis. Of 227 articles retained through initial screening, 65 were included in the final analysis. The results were two-fold: some articles pointed to intangible benefits accrued by developed country partners, but the majority of information pointed to developing country innovations that can potentially inform health systems in developed countries. This information spanned all six WHO health system components. Ten key health areas where developed countries have the most to learn from the developing world were identified and include, rural health service delivery; skills substitution; decentralisation of management; creative problem-solving; education in communicable disease control; innovation in mobile phone use; low technology simulation training; local product manufacture; health financing; and social entrepreneurship. While there are no guarantees that innovations from developing country experiences can effectively transfer to developed countries, combined developed-developing country learning processes can potentially generate effective solutions for global health systems. However, the global pool of knowledge in this area is virgin and further work needs to be undertaken to advance understanding of health innovation diffusion. Even more urgently, a standardized method for reporting partnership benefits is needed--this is perhaps the single most immediate need in planning for, and realizing, the full potential of international cooperation between developed and developing countries.

Introduction: Approximately 90% of a million children worldwide born with congenital heart defect do not have an access to adequate pediatric cardiac care. The World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, established in 2006 shifted the focus from providing individual pediatric cardiac care to developing global standards for the practice of pediatric cardiac surgery and professional education of the local teams. Materials and Methods: After recognizing the challenges of the local team regarding providing safe anesthesia and functioning as a broader team, we have focused our education on simplifying anesthetic procedures and advancing structured team approach. The appropriate selection of patients and simplifying anesthetic technique should be the standard of care. We introduced structured approach to daily education using just in time teaching, case based discussions and simple skill training simulation sessions. Furthermore, we enhanced team-training approach applying tools such as WHO surgical safety checklist and implementation manual, SAFE communication, introducing KDD with SMART aim, SCAMPs, advanced protocols of care and culture change tools. Results: Following a significant number of short missions to developing centers we have, within NGO, succeeded to support building and maintaining several local pediatric cardiac centers with structured approach to anesthesia and team building. Conclusion: The appropriate selection of patients is one of the most important contributing factors for decreasing morbidity and mortality rate in pediatric cardiac surgery patients. The anesthesia technique for pediatric cardiac procedures should be aimed at fast-track surgery, with early extubation as a goal. Regional blocks such as paravertebral and caudal should be considered for perioperative pain control. By introducing structured approach to daily education and by enhancing team-training approach we have contributed evolving sustainable pediatric cardiac centers in developing countries.

Head injury is an injury or wound of the brain tissue due to external forces; it can cause a decrease or change in the status of consciousness. Many head injury models have used mice as experimental animals; the Marmarou model is the most famous and the most widely-used diffuse brain injury model. In this study, we slightly modified the Marmarou model. The purpose of this study is to help researchers examining head injuries in mice, especially those in developing countries who have limited facilities and infrastructure.

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The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing in developing countries, yet limited research on the CRC- associated microbiota has been conducted in these areas, in part due to scarce resources, facilities, and the difficulty of fresh or frozen stool storage/transport. Here, we aimed (1) to establish a broad representation of diverse developing countries (Argentina, Chile, India, and Vietnam); (2) to validate a 'resource-light' sample-collection protocol translatable in these settings using guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) cards stored and, importantly, shipped internationally at room temperature; (3) to perform initial profiling of the collective CRC-associated microbiome of these developing countries; and (4) to compare this quantitatively with established CRC biomarkers from developed countries.

Background: Sustainable health financing is one of the main challenges of policymakers in the health system. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the sustainable financing of health promotion services in 7 selected countries and to analyze the related documents in Iran in 2018. Methods: This was a comparative and qualitative study (document analysis). In the comparative phase, the studies related to the selected countries- Australia, England, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Sweden, and Denmark- were investigated. In the second phase of the study, through a qualitative method of content analysis, 60 related documents were examined from 2005 to 2018. The initial evaluation of the documents was done using the Scott method and data were analyzed using Nvivo 8 software. Results: Based on the main findings of the study, there were a variety of approaches to the sustainable financing of health promotion services: excise taxes on goods; health-related behaviors regarding tobacco and alcohol consumption and gambling; using the capacities of social insurance funds in Germany and Turkey; and relying on the government budget in all the studied countries. According to the results of documents analysis related to the sustainable financing of health promotion in Iran, 3 main issues and 11 sub issues were identified. Conclusion: Using any of these methods or a combination of them depends on the political, social, and cultural structure of each country. The provisions of the law seem to be almost comprehensive; however, implementation, operationalization and monitoring of these elements are of significant importance.

Respiratory disease has never received priority in relation to its impact on health. Estimated DALYs lost in 2002 were 12% globally (similar for industrialized and developing countries). Chronic airflow limitation (due mainly to asthma and COPD) alone affects more than 100 million persons in the world and the majority of them live in developing countries. International guidelines for management of asthma (GINA) and COPD (GOLD) have been adopted and their cost-effectiveness demonstrated in industrialized countries. As resources are scarce in developing countries, adaptation of these guidelines using only essential drugs is required. It remains for governments to set priorities. To make these choices, a set of criteria have been proposed. It is vital that the results of scientific investigations are presented in these terms to facilitate their use by decision-makers. To respond to this emerging public health problem in developing countries, WHO has developed 2 initiatives: "Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL)" and the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD)", and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The Union) has launched a new initiative to increase affordability of essential asthma drugs for patients in developing countries termed the "Asthma Drug Facility" (ADF), which could facilitate the care of patients living in these parts of the world.

Several reports suggest that antimicrobial resistance is an increasing global problem; but like most pandemics, the greatest toll is in the less developed countries. The dismally low rate of discovery of antimicrobials compared to the rate of development of antimicrobial resistance places humanity on a very dangerous precipice. Since antimicrobial resistance is part of an organism's natural survival instinct, total eradication might be unachievable; however, it can be reduced to a level that it no longer poses a threat to humanity. While inappropriate antimicrobial consumption contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance, other complex political, social, economic and biomedical factors are equally important. Tackling the menace therefore should go beyond the conventional sensitization of members of the public and occasional press releases to include a multi-sectoral intervention involving the formation of various alliances and partnerships. Involving civil society organisations like the media could greatly enhance the success of the interventions.

Health research is essential for improving global health, health equity, and economic development. There are vast differences in the disease burden, research budget allocation, and scientific publications between the developed and the low-middle-income countries, which are the homes of 85% of the world's population. There are multiple challenges, as well as opportunities for health research in developing countries. One of the primary reasons for reduced research output from the developing countries is the lack of research capacity. Many developing countries are striving to build their research capacity. They are trying to understand their needs and goals to solve their fundamental health problems, but the opportunity for research education and training remains low. The first joint research meeting of the Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society and the British Society of Gastroenterology took place in February 2020 at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed at providing an overview of medical research for young, aspiring medical researchers. This review article provides an outline of the research day and covers a number of useful topics. This review aims to provide a basic guide for early career researchers, both within the field of gastroenterology and, more generally, to all spheres of medical research.

The imperative to increase seafood supply while dealing with its overfished local stocks has pushed the European Union (EU) and its Member States to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other countries through various types of fishing agreements for decades. Although European public fishing agreements are commented on regularly and considered to be transparent, this is the first global and historical study on the fee regime that governs them. We find that the EU has subsidized these agreements at an average of 75% of their cost (financial contribution agreed upon in the agreements), while private European business interests paid the equivalent of 1.5% of the value of the fish that was eventually landed. This raises questions of fisheries benefit-sharing and resource-use equity that the EU has the potential to address during the nearly completed reform of its Common Fisheries Policy.

Are countries at a low level of socio-economic development catching up with developed countries over time or rather falling further behind? Existing work on the subject is not conclusive, partially due to methodological differences. The aim of the paper is to carry out a broader analysis with longer time series and a more diverse set of indicators. The study divides countries of the world into 21 developed "benchmark" countries and 156 developing countries. The distance between the benchmark and developing countries is measured using the "time lags" method, applied here to nine indicators covering topics such as the economy, health, education and the environment. The study further utilizes a probabilistic approach to extrapolate missing historical data for developing countries, so that the analysis can cover a full century starting in 1920 and ending with short-term projections to year 2020. The study finds that a majority of developing countries, and the population-weighted developing world as a whole, has reduced its lag in most indicators between 1920 and 2020. Progress was unevenly distributed, with East Asian and European countries converging the most with the benchmark, while most African countries have diverged along with some American ones. Catch-up in education attainment and life expectancy has been more successful than in infant survival rate, GDP per capita or technology adoption. The findings are put in context of United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, showing how the time lag method could improve setting targets for some of the goals. Further, time lags are used to analyze the current demographic, economic and political situation of developing countries, identifying opportunities and risks for future catch-up with developed countries.

Substantial changes in large parts of the developing world have materialised in the last three decades. These are extremely diverse countries with respect to culture, societal values and political arrangements, but sharing one feature--prevalent poverty and limited resources to protect the health of individuals. The control of emerging chronic diseases in low-resource countries is a formidable challenge. For this reason any intervention should be kept logistically simple and incorporated into a general plan aiming at building gradually the infrastructure that is necessary to bring care to the population at large. The present contribution summarizes some of the priorities in cancer prevention in developing countries and the underlying evidence base, and addresses some of the challenges.

To update the current evidence base on paediatric postdischarge mortality (PDM) in developing countries. Secondary objectives included an evaluation of risk factors, timing and location of PDM.

Medical student involvement in research has been declining over the years. We reviewed the factors that hinder participation in research with a focus on developing countries.

This article discusses the overweight/obesity situation among young adults in developing countries. For this target population, obesity prevalence ranges from 2.3 to 12 %, and overweight is 28.8 %, mostly affecting females. Weight is now increasing during this life stage of transition at a higher rate, 1 kg/year, than in developed countries. Maternal factors and early childhood socioeconomic status are associated with BMI in young adults along with changing environmental and behavioural factors in some low and middle income countries, brought about by demographic and socioeconomic transitions. Young adults with 'normal weight' obesity need identification using other convenient low cost measures (skin folds or waist circumference) along with BMI. Obesity prevention or management interventions were not identified, but clearly needed to help stem the obesity pandemic. Young people generally give little priority to their future health, so such interventions need to be conducted at some optimal age, be innovative, country specific and culturally acceptable.

We undertook a systematic review of studies assessing the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and measured obesity in low- and middle-income countries (defined by the World Bank as countries with per capita income up to US$12,275) among children, men and women. The evidence on the subject has grown significantly since an earlier influential review was published in 2004. We find that in low-income countries or in countries with low human development index (HDI), the association between SES and obesity appears to be positive for both men and women: the more affluent and/or those with higher educational attainment tend to be more likely to be obese. However, in middle-income countries or in countries with medium HDI, the association becomes largely mixed for men and mainly negative for women. This particular shift appears to occur at an even lower level of per capita income than suggested by an influential earlier review. By contrast, obesity in children appears to be predominantly a problem of the rich in low- and middle-income countries.