Beginning in January 2002, health and medical institutions in 67 developing countries have been offered free online access to a large library of prestigious international journals. This initiative is scheduled to expand later in the year to a further tier of 41 countries, with access to the journals at very low prices. HINARI (the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative) has been developed by the World Health Organization and its publisher partners to support the health sector in developing countries by enabling access to high quality, timely, relevant scientific information at affordable prices. It builds on recent developments in academic publishing and library services, particularly the shift from print to electronic journal publishing and the move to consortial purchasing of online information services. HINARI has evolved under the umbrella of the Health InterNetwork, a WHO-led public-private partnership initiated by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as part of his Millennium Agenda to narrow the digital divide. HINARI is based on a group of principles which define its framework. The stability of this structure should ensure the sustainability of the initiative. The principles central to the HINARI framework are: Multi-lateral and multi-sectoral partnership. While WHO plays a central coordinating role, individual functions such as provision of content or organization of training are developed and maintained by the appropriate partner. A commitment to equitable pricing. The primary information of biomedicine is essential to achieving population health in the developing world. If it is priced, the cost should be proportionate to the ability of the user to pay. Transparent criteria for inclusion. Eligibility is determined clearly and openly. Respect for copyright. HINARI aims to bring developing country users into the global fellowship of access to scientific information. This includes access, and also certain responsibilities. Common license agreement. Under HINARI, access to the journals is on the basis of an offer from the publishers directly to the eligible institutions. HINARI has developed a license agreement which is signed once and covers all participating publishers and titles. One-stop delivery mechanism. To keep online connection time to a minimum, and to simplify information retrieval for the end-user, HINARI has developed a streamlined menu page. All HINARI content is accessible from the menu with the minimum number of clicks, and no time-wasting graphics and gadgets (remember: communications charges in developing countries are higher than in the industrialized world). Commitment by publisher partners to a minimum of 3–5 years. Because of the lack of information technology and communications infrastructure in the developing world, and the need for training and adaptation to the electronic environment, it will take time to bring HINARI to all the eligible users. The publishers have therefore committed to maintaining the current offer for a long minimum period. Integration through WHO leadership with global development efforts, and the wider socio-economic context. Population health is integrally linked to economic development. A nation will never be wealthy until its population has attained a reasonable level of health. HINARI offers two essential components. First and foremost, content: access to the full-text of journals, with no restrictions regarding most recent or back issues, directly from the publisher's website. At its launch in January 2002, HINARI offered 1500 titles from five publishers. More than 20 publishers joined with hundreds of additional titles at the end of April 2002. The subject scope is biomedical and related social sciences. The second essential component is training. Training modules covering the full scope of user needs—Internet basics, general database concepts and literature searching, publishers and products, free health information resources, etc.—have been developed in English, and are being adapted to French, Spanish and Russian by HINARI partners. A first training-for-trainers workshop, focused on malaria research in Africa, was organized in July 2002 in Dar-es-Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. Eligibility for HINARI is based first on the economy of the country. Access to the journals is free for countries whose Gross National Product per capita (GNP p.c.) is less than $1000. Countries with GNP p.c. between $1000–$3000 will be offered access at very reduced prices, to be determined in the course of 2002. Countries which have not signed the Berne Conventions are not eligible, but this requirement has been waived for the poorest. Within eligible countries, access is offered to health sector institutions: schools of medicine/nursing/public health/pharmacy; universities; research institutes; government offices; teaching hospitals; medical libraries. Each HINARI partner contributes to the Initiative according to its area of expertise. The publishers have been full partners in developing the framework offer. WHO plays an administrative role, identifying eligible institutions; housing and maintaining the HINARI server and central functions—the menu interface; authentication; user statistics. The BMJ Group, a publisher partner, have seconded a staff member to the HINARI task force, and lead in the development of the common license agreement. Yale University Library have provided technical assistance by sharing an authentication software application and contributing to the menu interface; developing the English language training modules and leading the first training workshop. The UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) is organizing and funding training workshops, as well as publishing and distribution of training modules on CD-ROM. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) has offered support to HINARI through coordination with PubMed, and including HINARI in an ongoing evaluation study of the impact of access to journals on developing country researchers. For 2002, the major focus of HINARI is on developing the pricing model for the second tier of countries (GNP p.c. $1000–$3000) and on bringing in new publisher partners and their journals. Future activities will include integrating locally produced information, expanding training efforts, and finding alternative ways to help countries not included in the current offer. Visit us at http://www.healthinternetwork.org or http://www.healthinternetwork.net. Click on ‘Scientific publications’ to visit the HINARI menu page.
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Barbara Aronson (2002) studied this question.