Importance of health research in South Asia.

Focuses on the challenges facing health systems in South Asia, a region that includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. Discussion of how health research should be organized and the infrastructure strengthened across the region; The burden of persistent infectious diseases, chronic conditions, and violence; Factors contributing to an enhanced research environment; Political aspects of health system reforms that would encourage research collaboration between countries; Opinion that health research should be used in making policy and promoting professional practice.