The Gorgas Memorial Institute. Panama city.
Research for health can be a significant contributor to economic and social development.
The Panama Canal is a powerful example of the transformational role of research for health in the economy, development and health. To Panamanians, the benefits of research for health are pretty clear: the canal bridging the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is a key route to the world’s commerce and for many years underpinned Panama’s economy.
The arrival in 1904 in Panama of a group of medical personnel led by U.S. Army Colonel William C. Gorgas was key to building the canal.
Gorgas came from Havana, Cuba, where he had learned about the work of Dr. Carlos Finlay on the transmission of yellow fever. Gorgas implemented these research findings by developing far-reaching sanitary programs (e.g., fumigation, mosquito netting, draining ponds and swamps, and building public water systems) that protected thousands of workers. Soon “Yellow Jack” was under control, permitting the completion of the canal’s construction.
The Panama Canal is a powerful example of the transformational role of research for health in the economy, development and health. To Panamanians, the benefits of research for health are pretty clear: the canal bridging the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is a key route to the world’s commerce and for many years underpinned Panama’s economy.
The arrival in 1904 in Panama of a group of medical personnel led by U.S. Army Colonel William C. Gorgas was key to building the canal.
Gorgas came from Havana, Cuba, where he had learned about the work of Dr. Carlos Finlay on the transmission of yellow fever. Gorgas implemented these research findings by developing far-reaching sanitary programs (e.g., fumigation, mosquito netting, draining ponds and swamps, and building public water systems) that protected thousands of workers. Soon “Yellow Jack” was under control, permitting the completion of the canal’s construction.
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