10-90 gap

The 10/90 gap is the term adopted by the Global Forum for Health Research to highlight the finding by the Commission on Health Research for Development in 1990, that less than 10% of worldwide resources devoted to health research were put towards health in Developing Countries, where over 90% of all preventable deaths worldwide occurred. Every year, the spread of disease suffered in both rich and poor countries converges. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the most prevalent diseases consist of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. These diseases now account for 45% of the global health burden and is the culprit for up to 85% of deaths in low-income countries. The 10/90 Gap focuses on joining organisations together to reduce these statistics.

A substantial portion of diseases, most prevalent in impoverished or developing countries, are those which are preventable and/or treatable. The World Health Organisation (2004) stated in their world health report that an estimated eight million individuals die prematurely, from diseases and conditions that can be cured, every year. These deaths contribute to approximately one third of all human deaths in the world, each year. Table 1 lists several of these curable diseases.

Table 1: Causes of avoidable deaths.

Global health organisations across the globe have explicitly made research into health their priority. In 2000, World Health Organisation established the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, who in their 2001 report, verified the relationship between poverty and disease and discussed the benefit of investment on the economic climates of developing countries. Possible strategies that can be implanted to help reduce the 10/90 gap are, policies prioritizing funding for health research, also developing capacities of credible public and private health research institutions. Also activities of international NGOs to undertake research aimed at resolving the gap, and the setting up of research based mechanisms to ensure access to new effective products for the treatment and prevention of poverty-related diseases. However, given the number of diseases that are preventable, other factors that are blocking the access of patients to these products, such as cost of treatments to the individual, also need to be addressed, rather that just focusing on developing new drugs. There is also a need to build the primary health care sector in developing countries. It has been shown that early detection and effective management of disease can be provided by appropriately-trained, non-physician, healthcare workers.

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