Free supply of knowledge is good for developing countries

Editor—In some developing countries poor people used to get a free supply of food grains and milk products because of the munificence of philanthropists in the developed world. For many this was the only source of nutrition available. Some social scientists argued that such regular supply would discourage local initiatives: in the long term the free supply of foodstuffs might not be beneficial to the recipient country. This criticism does not, however, apply to the free supply of knowledge and health information.

The provision of free access to medical journals to people in developing countries, achieved with the support of five publishers, is laudable.¹ It is an unexpected gift to the needy medical community in less developed countries and was inconceivable a few years ago.

Medical colleges in developing countries face enormous financial constraints. They exist on low budgets and cannot afford subscriptions to journals. I have visited major medical colleges in different parts of India. Priorities may differ, but funds for the library will be the first to be cut.

Improved access to the internet is one of the welcome developments all over India. Five years ago, visiting cards of even eminent doctors did not contain an email address. Now it is different. In highly literate states, such as Kerala, some patients obtain information from the internet before visiting their doctors. The medical community in developing countries will be grateful to the people and agencies that took the initiative to make the full articles in several journals freely accessible to the public.