A two-day symposium "Global Health: A Challenge to Scientists," to explore the importance of supporting research in global health will be organized at Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on May 20-21, 2003.

The symposium, which commemorates FIC's 35th anniversary, spotlights the potential that research holds for diminishing global health disparities and the benefits to all of investing in such research. Prominent scientists, members of Congress, representatives of the U.S. and foreign governments and research institutions, as well as NGOs and the pharmaceutical industry, will address four areas: why global health matters, opportunities and challenges, research across geographic boundaries, and the impact of research capacity building in developing countries.

FIC is the international component of the NIH. It promotes and supports scientific discovery internationally and mobilizes resources to reduce disparities in global health.