Resource allocation and the genetic revolution

What can be done? The power of individuals and specific nations to resist global commercial depredation varies. The nature of the problem of global multinational hegemony is not uniformly well understood. But it is within the power of the people to elect governments in democracies to do their bidding. It is a matter of the greatest urgency that public health professionals perceive what is at risk and begin its advocacy in favour of local action, after thinking carefully about global issues.

In his presentation to the UNESCO Congress, McGee concluded:

It is clear that the maldistribution of public resources in health care cannot continue in the U.S. or other countries. The U.S. spends billions on genetic research and biotechnology, yet still is unable to spend pennies on public health prenatal services for all pregnant women. Americans spend millions on genetic research concerning intelligence, but find their institutions unable to spend pennies to educate the world's children to the point where comprehensive understanding of, and informed consent for, genetic services is possible. This is dangerous because it suggests that we hope for a future in which nutrition, education and environmental issues are sublimated to genetics or genomics or gene therapy.

A rediscovery of the notion of altruism appears to be critical, for both its actual and symbolic impact. Thus the contribution of $100M by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation toward the development of a malaria vaccine (which depends upon an understanding of the malaria genome) may point the way forward. But we have a long way to travel.