Doctors in poor countries lose free access to medical journals

Guardian : Wealthy publishers of the world’s most important medical journals are accused of destroying an agreement to allow medics in poor countries to get online access for free, writes Sarah Boseley for the Guardian. Although in 2001 an agreement was made to put the world’s most important medical journals online for free, now in 2011 restrictions have been imposed in 28 of the 64 poorest countries in the world. Elsevier, for example, says it will charge from 2012, arguing that countries like Bangladesh will need to move from free access to affordable but commercial deals. Because other publishers are moving down the same road as well, individuals such as Richard Smith, former editor of the British Medical Journal, are working to reinforce the work started in 2001 by the Health InterNetwork for Access to Research Initiative set up by the World Health Organization.