Introduction

In the 1970s and 1980s, a molecular biology revolution occurred. This has given way to technological advances on a number of fronts. Advances in understanding of disease processes have spawned novel targets for therapy. Specifically targeted treatments and personalized therapies, based on any individual’s genotype, have become real prospects. Moreover, the molecular biology revolution has sparked unprecedented innovation in the generation of experimental techniques, facilitating seminal findings that hold great promise for mankind.

Across the globe, there has been a tremendous increase in the intensity and quality of the biomedical research effort. The world’s wealthiest nations have led the way. However, the developing countries of Africa have lagged behind. There are severe constraints on funding for research in the relevant biological and pharmacological sciences. Consequently, researchers in these developing countries have limited motivation and opportunities to engage meaningfully in the global endeavor. The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical research is, perhaps, the best equipped and most active biomedical research institution in Ghana. Built as a memorial to the late Japanese yellow fever researcher, Hideyo Noguchi, and donated to the people of Ghana by the Japanese government, it is a part of the University of Ghana’s College of Health Sciences. This institute primarily focuses on communicable diseases and nutrition.

Paradoxically, many developing countries of Africa, South America and Asia are repositories of knowledge of the therapeutic potential of molecules in nature. In Ghana, traditional healers have knowledge and practices that have been handed down the generations over several centuries. That they constitute an invaluable resource has been acknowledged by the establishment of the Center for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine, and the recent creation of the Department of Herbal Medicine in the nation’s only Pharmacy School.

All these developments have taken place at a time when formidable global health challenges remain. Malaria remains a major killer disease in Africa. There are many people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Resistance to antibiotic use is on the ascendancy globally. The global community offers opportunities that can be more effectively harnessed by Ghanaian scientists and medical practitioners. For instance the USA offers the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offer funding that specifically takes aim at some of these challenges.

Fortunately, both at home and abroad, Ghanaian medical experts have the potential of contributing to the fight against these global health challenges. Ghana has natives spread across the globe at the forefront of certain advances in medical science. They are found in the leading academic and research institutions of the world. Ghanaian natives are also represented in the drug development effort in the world’s major pharmaceutical companies.