non-physician, healthcare workers. Health expenditure The gap between financial needs and financial means in low income countries can only be filled by donations. The average health expenditure per capita in western countries is estimated at $947 compared to $20 per capita in low income countries. To assist the world's poorest, health expenditure between $44–60 per capita is placed as a target. This target is achieved by the contribution of 0.1% of advanced western countries gross national production (GNP) to fund global health, this recommendation was set by the WHO in 2001 and is estimated to save 8 million lives per year. Global research and development Among other efforts to address this issue are recent proposals for a Global Research and Development (R&D) treaty, and the creation of the nonprofit pharmaceutical company OneWorld Health which develops new and affordable medicines for neglected diseases. A treaty creates a system that allows health research to come from contributions by all and therefore the sharing of benefits for all, improving the fairness and sustainability of global research and development. In a positive development for the closing of the gap, in the 2012 London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases many parties, including governments, funding organisations and drug companies, agreed to work towards the eradication of neglected tropical diseases. Criticism Despite the findings of the World Health Organization, and the disparity of curable diseases throughout developing and developed countries, some people believe the 10/90 gap is a myth. They criticise the fact that simple medicines which stop curable and treatable conditions such as diarrhoea and malaria are available to these countries. The issue is not with the medicine, but with the ability for the affected to access it. Access to medicine can be inhibited by many circumstances such as poverty, strict government regime and inadequate healthcare systems and infrastructure. See also World Health Organization Pareto principle Inequality References External links 10/90 Report on Health Research 2003-2004 Health research