Skip Navigation

Latin America & Caribbean

Opinions

Here is a list of the latest articles

cubadengue_WHO_TDR_Crump.jpg

Dengue-free Cuba an example to developing countries

Cuba has managed to stay free of dengue fever through locally-relevant research, say Maria G. Guzmán and Gustavo Kourí.

Source: The Lancet

18 November 2009 | EN | ES

Scientists_Flickr_IRRI_Images

Collaboration key to developing world genomics research

Poor countries need support to participate in genomics research, say Josefina Coloma and Eva Harris in PLoS Medicine.

Source: PLoS Medicine

10 November 2009 | EN | ES

sthetoscope  Ernstl Flickr.jpg

Cuba: The right to health during economic crises

The international community can help Cuba to keep on providing its population with accessible healthcare, even during economic turbulence, say Pol de Vos and Patrick Van der Stuyft.

Source: The Lancet

9 November 2009 | ES

field&researchers_Flickr_IRRI_Images.jpg

CGIAR reforms make research decision-making distant

CGIAR reforms take research decisions too far away, says Hartmann, director-general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

6 October 2009 | EN

Cultivation forest Flickr bbcworldservice140140.jpg

Tropical ecosystems threatened by over-consumption

We must take responsibility for the costs of modifying tropical ecosystems for human consumption, says botanist Scott A. Mori.

Source: Plant Talk

24 September 2009 | EN | ES

slum_flickr_shortie66

The malaria myths of climate change

Contrary to oft-repeated claims, climate change is unlikely to cause a major rise in malaria, says medical entomologist Paul Reiter.

9 September 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

mozzie_flickr_wormwould.jpg

Tackling insect-borne disease whatever the weather

We must reduce the poor's vulnerability to insect-borne disease regardless of climate change, says public health expert Ulisses Confalonieri.

9 September 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

journals_flickr_absentmindedprof

The challenge of reporting on climate change and health

Reporting on how climate change affects health is a real challenge — screen your sources and find reliable experts, says Asefaw Getachew.

9 September 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

filariasis_WHO_TDR_Crump.jpg

Funding mass treatment of lymphatic filariasis is vital

Interrupting funding for mass treatment of lymphatic filariasis can lead to a quick resurgence in the disease, say Kimberly Won and colleagues.

Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

6 September 2009 | EN

journals

Raise the profile of research in local journals

Governments must do more to support research published in local journals and make it visible, says South African scientist, Wieland Gevers.

Source: Science

25 August 2009 | EN | 中文

Venezuelan minister of science, Jesse Chacón

Minister defends Venezuelan science

In a letter to Science, Venezuelan minister of science Jesse Chacón rejects criticisms of scientific guidance under the Hugo Chávez government.

Source: Science

6 August 2009 | ES

coffeeSorting_flickr_jakeliefer.jpg

Climate change brews up trouble for coffee growers

Governments need to regain control over their agriculture to combat climate change, says commodities specialist Peter Baker.

5 August 2009 | EN | 中文

peatlandDeforestationBorneo_Mongabay_RhettButler.jpg

What are the real costs of reducing forest emissions?

Without knowing REDD's true costs we can't analyse the benefits, says the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins' Peter A. Minang.

8 July 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

indiaforest_flickr_Pranav_Singh.jpg

Climate deals should reward wider forest management

South Asian countries must be rewarded for afforestation, reforestation and carbon stock growth, say N. H. Ravindranath and Shamama Afreen.

8 July 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

deforestation_Flickr_crustmania.jpg

The promise and peril of REDD

Reducing deforestation is crucial to mitigate climate change, but it mustn't be used as an excuse to continue polluting, says Roman Czebiniak of Greenpeace.

8 July 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

conicalflasks_flickr_tk-link.jpg

Venezuelan science in jeopardy

Venezuelan science is falling foul of the government's agenda warns Claudio Bifano, president of the country's science academy.

Source: Science

23 June 2009 | EN | ES | FR

microwindturbine_flickr_Spacing_Magazine.jpg

Cooperation not compulsion on clean technology transfer

Compulsory licensing of clean technologies will only be needed if developed countries duck UNFCCC obligations, says Dalindyebo Shabalala.

3 June 2009 | EN | ES

child-meningitis-vaccination-uganda_flickr-sanjoyq.jpg

'Lack of political will' to develop new vaccines

A lack of political will to create vaccines is causing millions of deaths a year due to infectious diseases, says Manuel Elkin Patarroyo.

Source: Soitu.es

28 May 2009 | ES

Amazon forest burning

Amazon trees worth more alive than dead

We should heed researchers' findings that ceasing deforestation in the Amazon could boost its climate change resilience, says Andrew Mitchell.

Source: BBC Online

8 May 2009 | EN

QuantaFEG_nanoElectronMicroscope_FEI.jpg

Developing world advances nanotech for clean water

Developing countries are making good progress on nanotech for clean water, say Paulo Sergio de Paula Herrmann Jr. and José Antônio Brum.

6 May 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Information Services

Missed the Global Health Forum 2009?

Our blog, by SciDev.Net columnist Priya Shetty, will fill you in, as will our interview with the Global Forum's Gill Samuels