Experts examine gaps in global health research
In two new articles, global health experts examine gaps in research capacity in endemic countries and global research partnerships. In a Global Health Magazine article, Robert Eiss and Roger Glass of the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center discuss how gaps in health systems and a lack of trained personnel in endemic countries can hinder research efforts, as well as how to fill gaps in knowledge about delivering new interventions in impoverished settings. According to the authors, scientists are “converging on a common set of approaches to address disease burdens, making use of generic tools of genomics and cell biology; integrating research with innovations in clinical care; and creating highly disciplinary teams to achieve scale and complexity. These advances have profound implications for addressing global health priorities.” For example, advances in research and development (R&D) for new diagnostic tools “hold the potential to significantly alter the quality of health care where infrastructure is limited. … Progress will require us to meet several complex challenges. Chief among these is matching of technological capabilities with well-defined clinical and community needs, with these needs guiding device design early in the development process.”
Eiss and Glass write that one “of the most progressive developments in global health R&D over this past decade is the creation of product development partnerships, nonprofit ventures that have revitalized the neglected disease drug pipeline.” They add, “As these new ventures mature, there is a need to identify and promulgate public-private sector best practices that encourage commercial development while obtaining the broadest public benefit.” The authors conclude that “perhaps the most pressing and foundational need is to reverse brain drain and the persisting diaspora of talented scientists from sub-Saharan Africa and other impoverished regions.”
In related news, an article in the journal Equity, Health & Human Development argues that research should be a “crucial ingredient” in global health efforts. In particular, the article finds that there “is an urgent need to upgrade research capacities in all countries, especially low- and middle-income countries. This need is validated by the well-documented power of knowledge to advance health through strengthening new tools, better diagnosis of health problems, guidance of health care systems, and understanding of the social determinants of health.” In addition, the “global health research system, both public and private, has grown greatly in recent years, generating new knowledge, developing new technologies, and transforming health advances.” Because of this growth, there is a need to “strengthen global coordination and promotion mechanisms.”
Additional resources:
Equity, Health & Human Development (124 KB PDF)
