I note there are a couple of errors in my message yesterday. I hit 'send' too soon.
1. I wrote "The second is a commitment by a major funder, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to fund our Collaboration Plan." This would read: "The second is a financial commitment by a major funder, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to champion universal access to reliable healthcare information"
If WHO and the Gates Foundation (or other major philanthropist) makes a political and financial commitment (respectively) to universal access, I have no doubt that it could be achieved within a few years.
2. Towards the end of the message I wrote: 'global health leaders challenged Bill Gates to address the 'thirteenth global health challenge' - this should read fifteenth global health challenge. The relevant paper is here:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(06)68050-1/abstract
More on Bill Gates' plan to give away most of his fortune: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2e87lzqkdo
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org