The Council of Science Editors organized a Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development to appear in October-November 2007. This month, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association is linking arms with science journals throughout the world as we simultaneously publish papers on this topic to raise awareness and stimulate research interest within our respective disciplines.
This issue of the Journal represents an international collaboration with over 200 journals from developed and developing countries around the globe. These journals, like ours, are publishing new, original research, review articles, editorials, perspectives, news stories, and other types of articles on the subject of poverty and human development.
Development of the Global Theme Issue
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, a set of measurable and achievable targets was established to help meet the needs of the world’s poorest people by 2015 (1). Nearly 190 countries agreed on these eight targets, called the Millennium Development Goals (2), as follows:
1.eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
2.achieve universal primary education;
3.promote gender equality and empower women;
4.reduce child mortality;
5.improve maternal health;
6.combat HIV and AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
7.ensure environmental sustainability; and
8.develop a global partnership for development.
Although many of the Millennium Development Goals are focused on health and disease, application of scientific knowledge from all scientific disciplines and journals will play a crucial role in achieving these goals. The Council of Science Editors recognizes that its diverse members have a responsibility to ensure that journals help, in what might be a small but significant way, in the collective attainment of these goals.
Council of Science Editors’ Efforts
Building upon this initiative, in January 2005, the Council of Science Editors appointed a task force to engage science journals of all disciplines in the effort to combat worldwide poverty and disease and to establish sustainable paths for human development by the following efforts:
1.Fostering research and publishing capacity in the developing world.
2.Raising awareness of poverty and the role that scientific journals can play in combating its consequences.
3.Identifying existing programs involving the scientific publishing community and issues pertaining to poverty.
Since its inception the task force, has achieved the following:
•in conjunction with the Program Committee, developed sessions for the 2006 annual meeting devoted to the theme of “Working Toward a Sustainable, Equitable World”;
•supported the National Institutes of Health–funded African Journals Partnership;
•began a collaboration with AuthorAID (www.jphp.umb.edu/documents/Authoraid.pdf) to mentor authors in the developing world in preparing manuscripts for publication; and
•developed a statement of principles on journal editors’ responsibilities to the developing world.
The Journal Responds
In order to perpetuate these important concepts beyond this Global Theme Issue, the Journal encourages publication of relevant papers that continue to address these worldwide matters with a nutrition focus. Some of the anticipated publications include the following:
•Editorials and opinion pieces to explain how the goals affect readers’ work and practice from a nutrition perspective.
•Editorials and opinion pieces advocating the importance of the Millennium Development Goals and critiquing progress as related to food and nutrition issues.
•Review articles that include nutrition information relevant to people working in resource poor settings.
•Theme issues that contain articles about the Millennium Development Goals.
•Fostering cooperation between journals from developed and developing countries regarding nutrition concerns in common.
We thank the authors of this special issue for their willingness to address the topics of poverty and nutrition. We welcome feedback and ideas from readers and authors on how to best to continue this activity in effort to help achieve this important worldwide goal.
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