Page 13 - Genomic Medicine in Emerging Economies

2 CHAPTER 1: Genomic Medicine in Developing and Emerging Economies

and prevention strategies should be followed in every group of people. To date
genomic medicine interventions are being implemented in routine clinical
practice in various parts of the world to a greater or lesser extent.

However, implementation of genomic medicine has not always advanced at a
uniform pace in all parts of the world. In some developed countries, such as
Canada, the United States, and those in northern Europe, genomic medicine
is being implemented at a more rapid pace, which results from large invest-
ments in genomics implementation projects, state-of-the-art infrastructure,
sufficient genetic literacy of healthcare professionals, established reimburse-
ment policies for genetic testing, and legislation governing the use of genetic
tests. Whereas, in the majority of resource-limited environments in South
East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, the pace of genomic medicine
implementation is much slower; although, there are several examples of suc-
cessful implementation of genomic medicine that are confined to certain con-
ditions that are mostly prevalent in a particular region, but may constitute a
significant health and/or economic burden for these countries. To a certain
extent, genomic medicine initiatives in developed countries have been driven
by countrywide strategies, whereas the use of genomics and implementation
of genomic medicine practices in emerging economies has been much more
targeted to specific local needs or opportunities.

WHAT ARE EMERGING ECONOMIES?

Countries are generally classified into developed and developing countries
by using different classification systems. There are many factors used to rank
countries, such as national income, human development, and growth rate. For
instance, the United Nations (UN) uses the UN Human Development Index,
which is a summary measure of the average achievements in key aspects of
human development; the World Bank (WB) uses gross national income per
capita for this form of classification.
These classifications are used to assess how a country is progressing from an eco-
nomic and social perspective, as well as what needs remain unmet, such as fund-
ing or long-term strategies related to health, education, and scientific research.
Indeed, the fields of health, education, and scientific research need attention in
the developing countries since they are tightly connected with human develop-
ment and the country’s national income. These are the areas that are typically
underrepresented and/or poorly funded and that represent the most evident dif-
ference between developed countries and emerging economies.
According to a publication in “The Balance” in 2017 (Christy, 2017), emerg-
ing markets, also known as emerging economies or developing countries, are