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Biography |
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Dr. Muhammad Afzal obtained his Master's degrees in Marine Biology and Entomology in early 1970s and M.Phil in Physiology and Ph.D. in Entomology from Qudid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and University of Karachi, respectively, in early 1980s. Later, he specialized in R&D Management, and Intellectual Property Rights, from Korea Industrial Technology Association (KITA, Seoul) and Word Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, Geneva), respectively. His previous main positions included Director General, Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (1990-2003); Director General, Pakistan Museum of Natural History (2003-2004); and Director, Technology Information Promotion System (TIPS/ UNDP), Pakistan Bureau (1995-2003). Presently Dr. Afzal is Executive Editor of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) as well as Acting Regional Advisor RPC in the Regional Office.
Dr. Afzal has represented Pakistan, TIPS/UNDP and EMRO/WHO in scores of national and international policy meetings, conferences and training programmes, covering large areas of biological medical subjects and R&D management. He has published more than 80 research articles in reputed national and international journals pertaining to biological sciences; bioinformatics, bioethics, biochemistry, genetics, ecology; and environmental pollution, as well as written and edited several books and popular articles on biological and medical sciences, S&T policy and science promotion.
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Abstract |
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Scientific Paper Publication in Eastern Mediterranean Region with Special Reference to Research for Health
The overall health research capacity, including research output in the form of publications, is far from satisfactory in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The diverse social, scientific, demographic, geopolitical and economic issues; the accelerating revolution in science, and the growing disparities between rich and poor countries remain the challenges for us in the years to come.
Despite poor base of research for health in most of the countries of Region, health researchers tend to be deeply concerned about research output and its impact on the target population and health services. However, often, their knowledge, experience, and research findings fail to reach influential audiences and, consequently, are not used to shape policies. This communication gap arises for a number of reasons in our Region:
-Population and health professionals may be unfamiliar with the policy process and the information needs of policymakers;
-They may fail to see the policy relevance of their own knowledge and experience;
-They do not make the extra effort to communicate in non-technical language to policymakers or to shape messages specifically for policy audiences.
As considerable input and time would be needed for making sure that the best evidence can be applied in practice, special research would be needed in this direction how to shorten this time and optimize the resources needed for this purpose. However, before producing any evidence, exploring demand for that evidence by national policy makers can help lift the quality of health research and make it more relevant and useful to health care professionals, policymakers, and the wider community. |
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