130 Y. Yuthavong
Philippines, formally established in 1960, is an early example of success of
such international cooperation, giving to the world the IR8 and a host of
semi-dwarf rices which now account significantly for the present high
world productivity in rice. Other institutions established later, including
the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in
Mexico, the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases
(ILRAD) in Kenya, together with the IRRI, are now supported by the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in
turn sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the
World Bank, UN Development Programme (UNDP), various governments
and funding agencies. The CGIAR is often cited as a successful model of
international cooperation in research and training for a specific mission,
i.e., to increase food production in the developing world. Another example
of global cooperation for a specific mission, to which biotechnology is
making a significant contribution, is the UNDP/World Bank/World Health
Organization (WHO) Special Programme for Research and Training in
Tropical Diseases. Started in the mid-seventies, the Special Programme
aims at the alleviation of six major tropical diseases mainly predominant in
the developing world. The major tropical diseases are also the main con-
cern of other non-governmental organizations, e.g., the Rockefeller Foun-
dation Programme on Great Neglected Diseases of Mankind. A number of
new drugs and vaccines are being developed through these programmes.
 A few efforts on the international scale have focused on biotechnology as
the major tool towards development of the Third World countries. The
effort by UNIDO to set up the International Center for Genetic Engineer-
ing and Biotechnology (ICGEB) is the most extensive one with original
participation from both developing and some developed countries, al-
though it has unfortunately suffered from the disinterest of the major
countries. These problems are partly due to the expectations and fears
concerning international transfer and development of this powerful tech-
nology, much of which is proprietary and involves major trade and indus-
trial interests. Nevertheless, the establishment of ICGEB has sensitized
many developing countries to the potential benefits of biotechnology, and
the Center itself, with the two components in Trieste (Italy) and New
Delhi (India), may yet make significant impact on the developing coun-
tries, depending on acquisition of a high calibre staff and a well-chosen
programme of activity. An appraisal of the UNIDO effort to set up the
ICGEB has been recently given (Zimmerman, 1984 a,b).
 Other efforts in international cooperation on biotechnology for the ben-
 efit of developing countries include the agreement between the United
 Nations University and Venezuela to set up the International Institute for