Sachs cites malaria as a prime example. One to two million people die from the disease each year, but the amount spent on research is no more than 40 to 50 million dollars, he said.

"[The pharmaceutical companies] don't see a market in it," Sachs said.

One of the CMH's goals will be to find a way to create incentives for the world's scientific community to invest in helping solve the health problems of poorer countries.

In addition to generating more funding for health care from richer countries, Sachs said the CMH will also seek to advise the governments of poor countries to focus more of their own incomes on dealing with health issues.

Sachs said that in Bangladesh, less than 1 percent of the national income is spent on health, an astonishingly low value.

The CMH is split into six working groups, each of which is scheduled to submit two volumes of studies to the WHO by the middle of 2001. The commission will issue its final report by the end of that year.

"We're not charged with any implementation," Sachs said, "so we're trying to make as persuasive a case as possible about what should be done."