Tikki Pang is on a mission to encourage nations to put more science into health policy.

Pang, Director of the World Health Organization’s Department of Research Policy & Cooperation, says evidence-based decision making is critical as nations grapple with the big three health problems facing the planet – pandemics of infectious diseases, chronic disease, and diseases and natural disasters triggered by global warming.

He wants to see more precision in the way limited funds are targeted at health hotspots. “In terms of defining the priorities – that has to be based on evidence – making rational judgements in calculating the response,” said Pang, speaking from WHO headquarters in Geneva. His comments come at a time of serious health threats – epidemics and pandemics like bird flu, and the surge in developing countries of “lifestyle” diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and psychiatric disorders, once considered the problem of developed nations. Emerging threats include natural disasters and insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, due to climate change.

Pang, an Indonesian national and long-time resident of Malaysia, graduated with First Class Honours in biochemistry from ANU in 1974. Three years later, he was awarded a PhD in immunology and microbiology by the ANU. He has published six books and more than 200 scientific papers, 12 of them by the time he had completed his PhD.

A world renowned expert on arboviruses and other tropical diseases, Pang has served on many international medical and health policy advisory committees and is a fellow of several learned societies, including the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, and the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biology in the United Kingdom. He has moved fluidly between academe and the highest levels of health policy. Between 1977 and 1990, he was a lecturer and then associate professor at the Department of Medical Microbiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He then took up the Chair in Biomedical Sciences at the university, a post he held until 1999 when he joined WHO.

His role within the UN agency is to guide and assist member countries “to arrive at rational policy decisions based on the best scientific evidence”. He says the move to policy after 20 years in academe was easier than he expected. And fighting disease in developing countries by strengthening capacity to develop evidence-informed policies, especially in African nations, was rewarding.

“I thought that by joining an organisaton like WHO, I would get an opportunity to make a bigger impact,” he says. “The transition wasn’t difficult. It opened up new horizons and emphasised the need for and value of an organisation such as WHO. “On a day-to-day basis, I’m still applying my skills as a scientist.”

Pang, who set up the highly successful Chapter of the ANU Alumni Association in Malaysia, says the ANU taught him the importance of “excellence, openness and collaboration”, as well as scientific rigour and validation through peer review. He values especially his time at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, where he did his post-graduate work.

“What I remember most was the collegiality and talent. I could walk down the corridor and get advice from people. That prepared me for the career I had and the work I’m doing now. It’s about consulting people. It’s pushing the worth of science as the foundation of policy.”

He says health policy remains an esoteric art in many countries. Many decisions are not evidence-based because “in many situations, the evidence is not there”. “In other cases, the evidence is there but may not be as rigorous as it could be.” And sometimes, poor communication and distrust between scientists and policy makers is to blame. Many scientists are sceptical of the motives of policy makers under pressure from politicians, and lobby and consumer groups. For their part, policy makers are sceptical of some scientists, whom they see as “wanting more resources” for pursuing their own research interests rather than the most urgent problems facing the country.

“The mindset of many scientists is, ‘Just leave me alone. Just let me do what I want’. “The link between science and policy making is weak even in some of the rich countries.”