SciDev.Net

New figures on research spending show that the gap between rich and poor countries is closing — but not fast enough.

A majority of Latin American countries suffer from worthy talk but little stable R&D funding. Long-term strategies should be a priority.

More agricultural research funding and a farmer-centred approach to boosting food production are needed to prevent future food emergencies.

A meeting in Berlin brought unequal health research partnerships into the open — but will its framework kick-start progress or gather dust?

Japan is the latest country to give scientific cooperation with developing countries a higher profile in its foreign aid policies.

Zimbabwe's new science minister faces a daunting task in rebuilding his country's scientific capacity. He deserves all the help he can get.

Patents on scientific knowledge may not be as useful — or valuable — as many claim them to be.

Science can help developing countries facing commodity-price and climate turmoil: the biggest challenge is how to ensure it does.

Commodity price rises are no substitute for long-term investment in infrastructure and capacity as a means of securing sustained development.

African ministers have committed themselves to a set of actions to boost health research in their countries. Now they must implement them.

Successful efforts to implement effective South–South research collaboration require a better understanding of what works best and why.

Developing countries need economic stability and social inclusion to develop — both of which are in jeopardy in Kenya and Pakistan as 2008 dawns.

A commitment to biofuels should be based on a careful assessment of their prospective benefits and costs, not a blind leap of faith.

Delay in the implementation of Africa's plan of action for science and technology suggests commitment to act does not yet go deep enough.

China's efforts to build an innovation-based economy require a less hierarchical approach to organising its research system.

At its global summit next week the G8 needs to build on the work of its predecessors, putting science and technology back at the heart of the international aid agenda.

Last month's presidential elections in Nigeria have cast a shadow over the country's efforts to promote science and technology.

The interest in Brazil's ethanol programme should be used to set up fairer partnerships between developing and developed countries.

A growing consensus on the need for more science and technology in development policies must not be allowed to create excessive expectations.

If Africa is to build a sustainable science and technology infrastructure, it needs more than just enthusiastic promises from heads of state.