PHA-Exchange> Invitation to e-discussion

[Claudio]

-From: "Neil Pakenham-Walsh" <neilpw at doctors.org.uk>

> Invitation to e-discussion on POVERTY, EQUITY AND HEALTH
> RESEARCH
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> We would like to invite colleagues to participate in a
> special HIF-net e-conference on 'Poverty, equity and health re-
> search', from now until the end of August. HIF-net is an email
> list that looks especially at issues of 'access to information
> for health workers in developing countries.' It is a dynamic
> list with over 1200 people of different disciplines. From now
> until the end of August we are extending the scope of the list
> to embrace wider issues of POVERTY, EQUITY AND HEALTH RESEARCH,
> supported by the Global Forum for Health Research as part of
> their preparations for the Global Forum's 2005 annual meeting,
> Forum 9, in Mumbai, India, 12-16 September 2005.
>
> The e-conference is introduced below by Susan Jupp from the
> Global Forum for Health Research, together with a short paper
> from Stephen Matlin, executive director of the Global Forum. The
> paper is also available at:
>
http://www.globalforumhealth.org/filesupld/news/SAM%20intro%20for%20hif-net.
pdf
>
>Join HIF-net. If you would like to join, please send an email
> with your name, affiliation and interests to hif-net at dgroups.org
>
> We look forward to your contributions.
>
> Fred Bukachi and Neil Pakenham-Walsh
> HIF-net co-moderators
> http://www.dgroups.org/groups/HIF-net/index.cfm
>
> ***********************************************
>
> INTRODUCTION
>
> The Global Forum for Health Research is an independent interna-
> tional foundation promoting more health research to combat the
> neglected diseases and conditions that are major sources of ill
> health in developing countries. See our website for details:
> http://www.globalforumhealth.org
>
> By 'health research', we understand the whole spectrum from bio-
> medical research that creates new drugs, vaccines and diagnos-
> tics, to health systems and policy research which ensures that
> health systems are better informed and managed, to social sci-
> ence and operational research to improve access and uptake and
> to help us better understand what affects the health and the
> choices of people in the community.
>
> Each year, in a different region of the world, the Global Forum
> holds an annual meeting bringing together 600 to 700 partici-
> pants. This year the meeting will take place in Mumbai, India,
> from 12 to 16 September and its theme is 'Poverty, equity and
> health research'.
>
> Even with this large number of participants, we know we are not
> necessarily able to include all those who have something to con-
> tribute to the discussions. Over the past few years, we have in-
> troduced different mechanisms to reach out to listen to these
> other voices. Through a call for abstracts, for example, we re-
> ceive proposals for presentations that enrich the annual meeting
> programme. In addition last year we created an electronic maga-
> zine, RealHealthNews, which aims to bring good news on health
> research from all over the world to a wider audience.
>
> This year we would like to extend the outreach of our annual
> meeting through an e-discussion, made possible by HIF-net.
>
> Although the HIF-net community focuses particularly on issues of
> access to healthcare information, there is an important interde-
> pendence with the areas under discussion at Forum 9: poverty,
> equity, health research. By opening up the HIF-net community to
> this broader discussion and attracting more health researchers
> to HIF-net, we hope to help bridge communication gaps between
> researchers and other disciplines concerned with access and use
> of health information.
>
> The Global Forum has included in recent annual meetings a focus
> on access to health information. As a subscriber to HIF-net for
> several years, I am delighted to be able to solicit the views of
> the HIF-net community and others with a broad range of exper-
> tise.
>
> Susan Jupp, Head of Communications and Information, Global Forum
> for Health Research
>
> [HIF-net profile: Susan Jupp is Head of Communications and In-
> formation with the Global Forum for Health Research, based in
> Geneva, Switzerland. The Global Forum for Health Research is an
> independent international foundation promoting more health re-
> search to combat the neglected diseases and conditions that are
> major sources of ill health in developing countries.
> http://www.globalforumhealth.org
> mailto:susan.jupp at globalforumhealth.org ]
>
> ****************************************************************
>
> POVERTY, EQUITY AND HEALTH RESEARCH by Stephen Matlin, Executive
> Director of the Global Forum for Health Research
>
> Despite unprecedented gains in life expectancy in many countries
> during the last several decades, there is a growing crisis of
> ill health, whose dimensions include global threats from emerg-
> ing and re-emerging infectious diseases; rapidly increasing lev-
> els of noncommunicable diseases and injuries in developing coun-
> tries; and widening health gaps within and between countries.
> Many of these challenges can be met by improving health systems
> and by accelerated and more determined application of known and
> proven interventions.
>
> However, more health research - to create new knowledge and
> technologies; to increase our capacity to apply these equitably
> and effectively in different contexts and settings; and to un-
> derstand how health is influenced by a range of social determi-
> nants - remains vital if we are to achieve the goals of narrow-
> ing the gaps and improving global health.
>
> Health research encompasses the spectrum from the biomedical
> sciences (such as creation of affordable and accessible drugs,
> vaccines and diagnostics) to health policy and systems research,
> social sciences, political sciences, health economics, behav-
> ioural and operational research, and research into the relation-
> ship between health and the cultural, economic, physical, po-
> litical, social and policy environments.
>
> Research on social determinants of health
>
> Research is yielding important insights into factors that have a
> major bearing on the health of individuals and groups - poverty,
> inequities and other social determinants. What lessons can be
> drawn from this research, how can it be applied to improving
> health, and what further investigations are needed to support
> implementation?
>
> Health inequities are those inequalities in health status and
> outcomes that are both unfair and avoidable. They reflect peo-
> ple's different positions within social hierarchies - including
> but not limited to the hierarchy of poverty and wealth. Epidemi-
> ological evidence shows that most of the global burden of dis-
> ease and the bulk of health inequalities between and within
> countries are caused by social and economic factors: the social
> determinants of health. The most important include poverty; so-
> cial exclusion; health systems; environments; food security; wa-
> ter and sanitation; children's early life environment; educa-
> tion; housing; employment and working conditions; and the ef-
> fects of community and social structures ('social capital') on
> health.
>
> Today health equity gaps are growing between and within coun-
> tries, even as medical technology makes unprecedented strides.
> Indeed, some technological advances have the potential to widen
> the health gaps between the world's haves and have-nots. Over-
> coming health inequities and breaking the cycle of poverty and
> disease are urgent challenges for global health. To tackle
> health inequities and address the health needs of poor and vul-
> nerable communities requires action on the broader social deter-
> minants of health.
>
> Health research has a crucial role to play in this process. The
> great challenge today is to move from describing the problems to
> acting upon them - and then accurately measuring results.
>
> Research on health systems
>
> Health systems everywhere face major challenges in resources
> (financial, institutional and human), organization and manage-
> ment and in their responsiveness to policy and to the health
> needs of the populations they serve. Research plays a key role
> in providing evidence on what works, how to scale up systems and
> how to narrow equity gaps in access and in health outcomes.
>
> Research is vital to understanding and improving health poli-
> cies, health systems and the relationships between them. A well-
> functioning health system therefore needs to incorporate re-
> search activities on a continuous basis.
>
> Research and development of technologies for health
>
> Despite the fact that the world now spends more than US$ 100
> billion every year on health research, there are still insuffi-
> cient priority and resources devoted to addressing many of the
> global health challenges and especially those that predominantly
> affect lower income countries.
>
> The changing patterns of disease burden are presenting new chal-
> lenges to global health. At the same time, a range of major sci-
> entific advances in the last decade offer exciting opportunities
> for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
>
> Build national capacity for health research in all countries
>
> Forum 9 encourages the sharing of country experiences in build-
> ing national health research capabilities. It will examine
> - Successes and failures
> - Methods and approaches
> - The influence of political will on building and effectively
> utilizing research capacity
>
> It will also critically look at the capability of developing na-
> tions to:
> - Conduct research into social determinants of health
> - Engage in effective health systems research
> - Develop technologies and products that respond to national
> health priorities.
>
> QUESTIONS
>
> What is your experience? What can you share?
>
> 1. What are the essential roles of health research in supporting
> efforts by governments, donor agencies, research institutions
> and other actors to
> - identify health needs and inequities, including those based on
> biological, environmental, social and other determinants
> - create appropriate knowledge, tools and processes to address
> these
> - develop and implement evidence-informed and priority-linked
> policies to improve health
> - increase the effectiveness of targeting health programmes and
> services to address issues of poverty and equity in health?
> - promote health
>
> 2. What mechanisms can be developed to increase the resources
> (financial, human, institutional) applied to health research
> (encompassing the spectrum of biomedical, health policy and sys-
> tems, social sciences and behavioural research) to meet the
> needs of people everywhere and especially the poor and marginal-
> ized?
>
> ******************************
> Please send your comments to
> mailto:hif-net at dgroups.org

> Thank you.