A Wellcome boost for health in the Asia-Pacific

UK biomedical research charity the Wellcome Trust has joined the governments of Australia and New Zealand to launch a series of health initiatives that could help save the lives of millions of people in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under this latest international programme 11 studies will focus on a range of problems from road accidents and acute pesticide poisoning to pregnancy disorders, heart disease, obesity and parasitic diseases including malaria. Researchers from Australia and New Zealand will collaborate with colleagues in New Guinea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Fiji, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The Wellcome Trust has committed six million pounds sterling to the scheme, with the equivalent of another 4.5 million pounds coming from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and 1.3 million from New Zealand's Health Research Council. The trust has extensive experience of working with Australia and New Zealand. It has invested more than 30 million pounds in collaborative research programs in these countries since 1984.

Dr Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, said the charity had a long-standing commitment to tropical medicine and other health issues that affected the poorer nations of the world. "The subject was one very close to the heart of Sir Henry Wellcome, under whose will the trust was founded," he pointed out.

"It's particularly gratifying to see the diversity among the research programs that will be supported and the range of developing countries involved. It is also important to point out that this is the first time the trust has joined with governments outside the UK, to fund a specific program. The success of this endeavour gives us confidence that such partnerships will, in the future, be one way by which to maximise the impact of funding for research to improve health."