Washington, DC – 10 July, 2007 – Many developing countries lack
access to information and training that can help save lives, improve the
quality of life, and assist with economic development. To address this
disparity, more than 100 STM publishers, including Elsevier, Springer and
Blackwell and three UN organizations (WHO, FAO and UNEP) announce today the
extension of programs that provide free, or almost free, access to online
peer-reviewed journals. Information technology leader Microsoft announced its
support of technical assistance to enhance access to online research for
scientists, policymakers, and librarians in the developing world.
The three sister programs – HINARI (research on health), AGORA (research on
agriculture) and OARE (research in the environment) provide online research
access to more than 100 of the world’s poorest countries. All three of the
programs have official commitment from the partners until 2015, marking the
target for reaching the Millennium Development Goals.
Daviess Menefee, Director of Library Relations for Elsevier remarked, "From
the start Elsevier has been involved in developing these programs and
recognizes the need to provide scientists, researchers and policymakers in
the developing world with the tools necessary to advance their work. We strive
to make a difference by providing the highest standards in science research to
some of the poorest countries in the world."
In a World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted in 2000, researchers and
academics in developing countries ranked access to subscription based journals
as one of their most pressing problems. In countries with per capita income
of less than USD $1000 per annum, 56 percent of academic institutions surveyed
had no current subscriptions to international journals. These three programs,
which are in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals, hope to solve this
problem and make research as easily accessible in countries such as Sierra
Leone as it is in England and the USA.
Representatives from the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture
Organization, the UN Environmental Programme, and leading science and
technology publishers, together with representatives from Cornell and Yale
Universities, met today to extend their cooperation to 2015, in line with the
UN’s MDGs.
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About HINARI
HINARI
(Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative), launched in 2002 under
the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO), with technical
assistance from Yale University Library, enables developing countries to gain
access to one of the world's largest collections of biomedical and health
literature. Over 3750 journal titles are now available to health institutions
in 107 countries, benefiting many thousands of health workers and researchers.
About AGORA
AGORA
(Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture) [www.aginternetwork.org],
initiated in 2003 and led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
(FAO) with support from the Mann Library, Cornell University, together with
major publishers, enables developing countries to gain access to an
outstanding digital library collection in the fields of food, agriculture,
environmental science and related social sciences. AGORA provides a collection
of 958 journals to institutions in 107 countries. AGORA is designed to enhance
the scholarship of the many thousands of students, faculty and researchers in
agriculture and life sciences in the developing world.
About OARE
OARE
(Online Access to Research in the Environment), an international
public-private consortium introduced in 2006 by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), Yale University Library and School of Forestry and
Environmental Studies, and leading science and technology publishers, enables
70 low income countries to gain free access to over 1,300 scientific journal
titles owned and published by over 300 prestigious publishing houses,
scholarly societies, and scientific associations. Another 37 countries will be
added by 2008.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of
scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working
in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier’s
7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals
and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative
electronic products, such as ScienceDirect,
MD Consult, Scopus,
bibliographic databases, and online reference works.
Elsevier is a global business
headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide.
Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group
plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the
science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed
Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users,
with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery.
Media Contact:
Shira Tabachnikoff
Elsevier
Tel:
+31 20 485 2736
s.tabachnikoff@elsevier.com
