(b) Functions and strategies
To reach these goals, the Steering Committee identified the following functions and strategies:
• articulation of the African voice on health research
• development of a health research policy framework for accelerated re s e a rc h development
• s t rengthening of health re s e a rc h networking in the region (cre a t i n g mechanisms for strengthening the conduct, collaboration and coordination of health research in Africa)
• provision of technical support to countries
• conduct of analytical work to support health research development
• promotion of effective collaboration with partners
• promotion of adherence to and funding of local priorities
• enhancing effective health re s e a rc h communication
• promotion of ethics in health research on the continent
• development of health research leadership
• p romotion of the utilization of health research for development
• reduction of the current inter-country and global imbalances in health research.
(c) Activities
Under the strategies mentioned above, the Steering Committee recommended the following three sets of activities:
• Analytical work: study of regional health re s e a rch networks; analysis of South/
South collaboration; study of North/South collaboration; documentation of existing national health research mechanisms.
• Flagship projects: establishment of a clearinghouse; situation analysis of ethical clearance systems; leadership development
in health research and capacity retention.
• Communication and advocacy pro g r a m m e d i rected at target audiences: national stakeholders, regional political and economic organizations, civil society gro u p s , i n t e rnational organizations and part n e r s . (d) Organizational arrangements
The Steering Committee nominated an Executive Committee comprising a Chairperson (Raphael Owor), a Vi c e -Chairperson (Martyn Sama), Secre t a r i e s (Mutuma Mugambi and N’Diaye Absatou S o u m a re) and five sub-regional re p re s e n t a t i v e s ( Taiwo Adewole, Nigeria; Ahmed Elhassan, Sudan; Romilla Maharaj, South Africa;
A n d rew Kitua, Tanzania; Martinho Dgedge, Mozambique; to be identified, Central Africa).
The Secretariat of the Steering Committee will be undertaken by Mutuma Mugambi, assisted by N’Diaye Absatou Soumare (francophone Africa). It is foreseen that the African ENHR Network will operate as part of the African Health Research Forum.
A follow-up meeting of the Steering Committee is scheduled for the first week of July 2002 in Bamako. The launch of the African Health R e s e a rch Forum is proposed to coincide with F o rum 6, the sixth Annual Meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research, in Aru s h a on 12-15 November 2002.
3. At the regional level: the planned Asian and Pacific Health Research Forum13 (a) Background
The first meeting of the Asian and Pacific Health Research Forum took place in Manila in Febru a ry 2000, in preparation for the Bangkok Conference, where furt h e r discussions took place among the regional representatives. The last meeting took place in Bali on 13-15 November 2001, with the following objectives:
13Paper presented by Chitr Sitthi-Amorn at COHRED Board Meeting, December 2001.
• to review the experiences and lessons learnt from the ENHR movement in the light of the Action Plan adopted in the Bangkok Conference
• to examine the evolving framework of the national health research system
• to interact with global development agencies about ways to assess national health research systems
• to define the next steps to be undertaken by the Asian and Pacific Health Research Forum.
The Bali meeting endorsed the need for a regional forum where countries in the region can plan strategies to move forw a rd the notion of health research systems for the effective promotion of health in the region.
(b) Roles of the planned Asian and Pacific Forum The possible roles of the planned Forum were identified as follows:
• to serve as a platform for exchange of ideas and strategies to give a bigger voice to countries in Asia and the Pacific Islands (this platform must: stress the flexibility of interaction without a rigid structure; be inclusive and ensure continuity of dialogue within and between constituencies in the Asian and Pacific region; and keep up with developments in other parts of the world);
• to address regional challenges;
• to set priorities to tackle the re g i o n a l challenges, in particular through the strengthening of health research systems, rather than through projects and programmes;
• to share experiences and promote learning;
• to facilitate the mobilization of resources for regional and national efforts;
• to promote advocacy targeted to national g o v e rnments, donors and intern a t i o n a l organizations;
• to link the sub-regions in the Asian and Pacific continent
• to enhance research capacity development
in the fields of technical capacity, resource management and the management of health re s e a rch systems (in order to decrease the amount of “research which is not used” and better answer the “research needs which are not researched”).
(c) Organizational arrangements
Indonesia is serving as the interim focal point for the Asian and Pacific Health Research Forum. In the coming months, the focal point will recruit about 10-15 members who will serve on the Steering Committee. Efforts will then be undertaken to develop a process to clarify constituencies, to develop plans for re s o u rce mobilization and to pro m o t e e ffective national health re s e a rch systems, finding a balance between constru c t i v e process and evidence-based actions.
4. At the regional level: Latin and Central America
Numerous regional meetings were held in Latin and Central America in 2001 and are planned for 2002 on issues including mechanisms for regional collaboration, the functioning of national health re s e a rc h systems and the setting of health research priorities at the regional level.
5. At the country level
(a) The case of the Tanzanian National Forum for Health Research
The Tanzanian National Forum for Health Research was launched by the Minister of Health in February 1999. It is composed of 20 member institutions including the ministries of health, children, education and community development and women's affairs. Its specific objectives are to:
• promote and support health research in Tanzania
• develop and periodically revise essential national health priorities
• approve the work of the National Health Research Coordinating Committee and the
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National Health Research Ethics Committee
• develop and update guidelines for the conduct of scientifically and ethically sound research in Tanzania
• promote the establishment of networking and coordination of funds for health research
• provide guidelines for partnership in health research
• promote and enhance the use of health research results for planning, policy and decision-making.
As a result, the Tanzanian National Health R e s e a rch Forum has been a major i n s t rument for the definition of national health re s e a rch priorities, the coord i n a t i o n of re s e a rch, the dissemination of re s e a rc h results and the translation of re s e a rc h findings into practice.
(b) The ENHR network
A number of other countries have made significant efforts to develop mechanisms of collaboration within their health re s e a rc h systems at the national level and to link them
with actions in sectors other than health which have an important impact on health. In many cases, these efforts have been supported by COHRED and its network of partners. A s u m m a ry of the activities undertaken by COHRED in this respect is presented in Chapter 4.
(c) Assessment of the National Health Research Systems Performance
Under the leadership of WHO, major efforts are under way to assess the performance of national health research systems. The results of this initiative will be the main theme of the 2004 World Health Report. The study will be an important tool for each country to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of its own health research system and to design the next steps in research capacity strengthening.
This underlines the importance of the 2004 World Health Report and of this joint effort between the countries and their international partners, given the fact that research capacity strengthening at the country level has been considered as the cornerstone for improving the effectiveness of health research for the poorer populations.
• For a number of reasons (magnitude of the problems to be solved, eff i c i e n c y, i n t e rd i s c i p l i n a r i t y, global public goods), p a rtnerships are needed to help solve the major health re s e a rch problems ahead.
• P a rtnerships can be considered as the building blocks of the overall health re s e a rc h g o v e rnance system, as each partnership can bring its contribution to a better allocation of the re s o u rces invested in health re s e a rc h .