The IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme and Nuclear Medicine in the Developing World: Objectives, Trends, and Contributions

The International Atomic Energy Agency's technical cooperation (TC) programme helps Member States in the developing world with limited infrastructure and human resource capacity to harness the potential of nuclear technologies in meeting socioeconomic development challenges. As a part of its human health TC initiatives, the Agency, through the TC mechanism, has the unique role of promoting nuclear medicine applications of fellowships, scientific visits, and training courses, via technology procurement, and in the past decade has contributed nearly $54 million through 180 projects in supporting technology procurement and human resource capacity development among Member States from the developing world (low- and middle-income countries). There has been a growing demand in nuclear medicine TC, particularly in Africa and ex-Soviet Union States where limited infrastructure presently exists, based on cancer and cardiovascular disease management projects. African Member States received the greatest allocation of TC funds in the past 10 years dedicated to building new or rehabilitating obsolete nuclear medicine infrastructure through procurement support of single-photon emission computed tomography machines. Agency support in Asia and Latin America has emphasized human resource capacity building, as Member States in these regions have already acquired positron emission tomography and hybrid modalities (positron emission tomography/computed tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography) in their health systems. The strengthening of national nuclear medicine capacities among Member States across different regions has enabled stronger regional cooperation among developing countries who through the Agency's support and within the framework of regional cooperative agreements are sharing expertise and fostering the sustainability and productive integration of nuclear medicine within their health systems.