01 The special issue for tropical.pmd

Infectious and parasitic diseases continue to prevail as the major causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization they contribute to one-third of annual deaths and 32% of disease burden as measured in disability-adjusted life years [1,2]. These are considered the measurable rates of the disease burden in the EMR. On the other hand, the indirect burden of these diseases has been greatly underestimated in this Region. This includes the economic and social burden, and the impact of these diseases on the quality of life and productivity of afflicted individuals. In this context, such burden could be regarded as an impediment to progress and development of EMR countries. Thus, developing countries are faced with an overwhelming array of health problems and yet have limited resources to deal with them. To help plan strategies to tackle these problems, information based on the global health situation provides limited guidance; a developing country’s priorities must be based primarily on health information and research done in and by each country. From this perspective, the Commission on Health Research for Development has pointed to the critical importance for all countries to have the capacity to carry out research needed to define their own health problems and to work out affordable solutions for these problems [3]. Such health research requires multidisciplinary expertise, particularly involving skills in epidemiology, biostatistics and social sciences. In order to enhance the expertise needed to conduct research, the UNICEF/ UNDP/World Bank/WHO special programme for research and training in tropical diseases (TDR) has been strengthening the research capacity in disease endemic countries since 1978 [4,5]. In 1992 the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) initiated the small grants scheme for operational research in tropical diseases in order to improve the overall weak research capacity in the Region, promote research activities and support research contributing to the prevention and control of communicable diseases. This scheme initially used a contribution of Arab funds and later was supported by EMRO and TDR. It was thereafter recognized that active contribution of national disease control