From: "PARKER, Kimberly Joann" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:35:33 +0000

* RESEARCH4LIFE PUBLISHER PARTNERS COMMIT TO FREE AND LOW COST ACCESS
THROUGH 2020
* 18,000 resources available to the developing world via the HINARI,
AGORA, OARE, and ARDI programs

For Release: November 14th 2012

For Information, contact: Charlotte Masiello-Riome, Research4Life
Communications Coordinator,

[log in to unmask]

London, United Kingdom – London, November 14th, 2012 – The
Research4Life partners announced today that they have agreed to extend
their partnership through 2020. Research4Life (www.research4life.org)
currently provides over 6,000 institutions in more than 100 developing
countries with free or low cost access to peer-reviewed online content
from the world’s leading scientific, technical and medical publishers.
The renewed commitment will ensure that the 18,000 peer reviewed
scientific journals, books and databases now available through the
public-private Research4life partnership will continue to reach
research communities in low- and middle-income countries.

Nearly 200 scientific, technical and medical publishers worldwide
participate in Research4Life. Since the programme’s launch in 2001, no
publisher has withdrawn support from the partnership. A 2010 survey
which formed part of a Research4life user experience review, revealed
that more respondents (24%) cite HINARI as a source for life-science
and medical research than cite any other source, while more
respondents (32%) cite HINARI as the source they use most frequently.
For agricultural research, AGORA similarly tops the list of resources
used, with equivalent figures of 27% and 54% respectively.

One of the beneficiaries of Research4life, Gamal Khalafalla Mohamed
Ali Director General of Sudan’s Central Medical Supplies Public
Corporation who heads the national government agency responsible for
medical supplies to all public health institutions commented, “As a
policymaker, I use research published in HINARI for formulating
research-based policies. I have written many proposals and most of
these find their way to implementation. A major reason for this, I
think is the evidence that underpins the proposals. To me HINARI is
like water and oxygen: it is vital for me.”

“As the world community looks beyond the Millennium Development Goal
milestones in 2015, the Research4Life partnership is setting an
example by ensuring sustainability of these important information
access initiatives through 2020,” noted Richard Gedye, Director of
Outreach Programs, International Association of Scientific, Technical
and Medical Publishers.

“The partnership has extended its commitment to the programmes several
times since the HINARI programme for Access to Research in Health was
launched in 2001. The last two extensions were for 9 and 8 years
respectively.  I applaud the long-term commitment by the partnership
in support of low- and middle-income country researchers, who have
been making such strides in improving scientific practice, policy, and
education in the last ten years,” said Kimberly Parker, HINARI
Programme Manager at the World Health Organization.

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About Reseach4Life

Since 2001, the four programmes, Access to Research in Health
(HINARI), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA),
Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) and Access to
Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI), have grown and
developed  to the point where they now give researchers at more than
6,000 institutions in over 100 developing world countries and
territories free or low cost online access to some 18,000
peer-reviewed international scientific journals, books, and databases
provided by the world's leading science publishers.

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Notes to Editors:

Case studies about the impact of Research4life on scientists, doctors,
nurses and librarians can be found in the 2012, “Making a Difference”
booklet. Interviews with the Research4Life partners and program
managers are available upon request.