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Recommendations for introducing genetics services in developing countries

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 4, pages 61–68 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Many concerned scientists believe that developments in the medical application of genomics will widen the gap between the developed and the developing world. We argue that most developing countries now urgently need to incorporate genetic approaches (including DNA diagnosis) into their health services, and that many are able to do so. DNA diagnosis is relatively inexpensive, helps to develop skills in molecular biology and provides a basis for developing national expertise in genomics.

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Figure 1: Estimated average prevalence of congenital and genetic disorders by WHO region.
Figure 2: Age distribution of the populations of a typical high-resource country (United Kingdom) and a typical lower-resource country (Iran).
Figure 3: The 'global development curve'.

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Acknowledgements

B.M. is a retired Wellcome Principal Research Fellow.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Health Organization, PO Box 811547, Amman, 11181, Jordan

    Ala' Alwan

  2. Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free and University College Medical School and the University College London Centre for Health Informatics and Multiprofessional Education, Holborn Union Building, Whittington Campus, Highgate Hill, N19 5LW, London, UK

    Bernadette Modell

  3. WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Control of Hereditary Disorders,

    Bernadette Modell

Authors
  1. Ala' Alwan
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  2. Bernadette Modell
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Correspondence to Bernadette Modell.

Related links

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DATABASES

OMIM

congenital hypothyroidism

cystic fibrosis

Down syndrome

factor V Leiden

G6PD deficiency

haemochromatosis

haemophilia

phenylketonuria

sickle cell disorder

Tay–Sachs disease

thalassaemias

FURTHER INFORMATION

Accessible Publishing of Genetic Information (APoGI) on haemoglobin disorders

Epidemiological information on consanguineous marriage

Information on rare diseases (including many inherited disorders) in six languages

SciDevNet (news, views, and information about science and development)

The Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI)

The World Bank

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Alwan, A., Modell, B. Recommendations for introducing genetics services in developing countries. Nat Rev Genet 4, 61–68 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg978

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