Informing the establishment of the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development: a call for papers
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COMMENTARY
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Informing the establishment of the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development: a call for papers Taghreed Adam1*, John-Arne Røttingen2,3 and Marie-Paule Kieny1
Abstract In May 2013, the WHO Member States requested the WHO to establish a Global Observatory on Health Research and Development (R&D), as part of a strategic work-plan to promote innovation, build capacity, improve access, and mobilize resources to address diseases that disproportionately affect the world’s poorest countries. The rationale for establishing a Global Observatory on Health R&D is to provide a mechanism to monitor and analyse health R&D resource flows, product pipelines, and research outputs, aiming to contribute to the identification of gaps to inform priority-setting for new R&D investments to be operationalized through a new global financing and coordination mechanism for health R&D and utilized by all stakeholders informing health research policy decisions in countries, civil society, and the private sector. As one of the mechanisms to achieve the goals of the Global Observatory on Health R&D, the WHO is launching a Call for Papers to be published as a Thematic Series in Health Research Policy and Systems to contribute state-of-the-art knowledge and innovative approaches to analyse, interpret, and report on health R&D information. Further, to serve as a key resource to inform the future WHO-convened coordination mechanism, which will be utilized to generate evidence-informed priorities for new R&D investments to be financed through a proposed new global financing and coordination mechanism for health R&D. Keywords: Funding, Global health, Investments, Observatory, Research and development
Background After almost a decade since calling for closing the 10/90 gap, a concept put forward by the Commission on Health Research for Development to highlight disparities in research and development support for neglected diseases affecting the world’s poorest countries [1], the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States are now united in recognizing the urgency in addressing the health needs of the world’s poorest countries. In particular, the inequities in the current research landscape due to recognized market failures and the need for increasing investments in health research and development (R&D) related to diseases that overwhelmingly or predominantly affect the poor (Type III and Type II diseases), as well as the specific R&D needs of low- and middle-income * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 World Health Organization, Health Systems and Innovation, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
countries (LMICs) for diseases affecting both high-income countries and LMICs (Type I) [2, 3]. Related to this, in May 2013, the World Health Assembly, in its resolution 22.66, requested the WHO to establish a Global Observatory on Health R&D, as part of a strategic work-plan along with other actions including exploring the possibiliti
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