Open access to UK government's developing research

In August, a new policy was announced by the Department for International Development, pledging that all of the research it funds will be made freely available online through open access. The policy goes further than most by recommending steps to help people in developing countries find, view and download material. To read more please visit our blog.

Malaria Challenge - sharing the wonder of malaria biology

Julian Rayner from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, featured as a guest blogger to share their latest innovation in educating children about malaria. The development of Malaria Challenge, a multimedia resource that explores the five major stages of the malaria lifecycle, aims to engage secondary school children in a more interactive learning atmosphere whilst delivering cutting-edge malaria research to the classroom. To read more about Malaria Challenge please visit our blog.

Launch of new journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty

BioMed Central, in partnership with the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, China CDC (NIPD), has launched a new open access journal, Infectious Diseases of Poverty. There was a launch ceremony in Beijing on 2 November, at the Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research. The inaugural issue focuses on the health system framework for controlling infectious diseases of poverty, discussing treatment strategies and innovative programmes, which provide a link between policy level and academic research. To read more please visit our blog.

Challenging malaria head on

In 2012, despite extensive efforts to eradicate the disease, malaria remains a massive global burden. In early October, over 300 scientists, clinicians and policymakers gathered at BioMed Central’s Challenges in Malaria Research conference in Basel, Switzerland to discuss the latest research on malaria. To find out more please visit our blog.

Contribute to the Open Access in the Developing World Newsletter

Has open access to research had an impact on your professional development or benefitted a particular project you are working? Does your organization or network support open access to research or work to achieve a similar goal? If so, BioMed Central would love to feature your story in the next issue of the Open Access in the Developing World newsletter. Please contact oaafrica@biomedcentral.com for more information.