WHO Strategy on
Research for Health
Rob Terry – Project Manager, RPC
WHO Strategy on Research for Health
WHO’s role in research for health…..
and the role of research in WHO…
 Recognizes research as central to progress in global health
 Identifies how WHO can work with Member States and partners to
harness knowledge, science and technology to produce research
evidence and tools to improve health outcomes.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Sustained Global interest
1990: Commission on Health Research for
Development
1996: Ad Hoc Committee on Health Research
Relating to Future Intervention Options
2000: International Conference on Health
Research for Development (Bangkok)
2004: Ministerial Summit on Health Research
(Mexico)
2008: Bamako Ministerial Forum on Research
for Health
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Complex array of initiatives
Member States looking to WHO for
guidance and leadership
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Mandate
Resolution WHA60.15 at 60th World Health Assembly
May 2007
requesting the DG…
"to submit to the Sixty-Second World Health
Assembly (2009) a strategy on the management
and organization of research activities within
WHO"
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Strategy development - a
participatory process
Regional offices
Special
Programmes, HQ
CCs
Implementation
Planning
INPUTS
100
Stakeholder
Interviews
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Strategy+
annexes
Emergent
Emergent
Themes
Working
drafts
Themes
Online &
Face to face
workshops
Advisory
Committe
e
on Health
Research
Evaluation
Framework
External
& Internal
Reference
Groups
Rolling Dialogue: Virtual & Face-to-Face
WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
WHO
Research
Strategy –
WHA
2009
Executive
Board
Jan 09
EB124/4.9
Guidance from the Director General
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
"….not spread our resources too thin…know our
comparative advantage …stick with activities that WHO is
uniquely well-suited to perform"

"make evidence have the right impact… strengthen the
legitimacy, quality and efficiency of our policy development
processes"

"...ensure that the best practices that science can devise
are being followed"

"….integrate WHO's research activities to more
strategically address a common health research agenda"
WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
What we heard from the consultation
 Bridge gap between policy makers
and researchers.
 Champion cause that evidence is
needed to address priority public
health needs
 “Get out of the health box”- links with
economic, social, cultural factors. How
these factors shape health outcomes
and how health impacts on them.
 Translate research questions and
findings into terms (e.g. cost savings)
that policy makers and practitioners
find persuasive
 Focus on application or implementation of existing know-how
 Build, in pragmatic ways, local capacity (individuals and institutions) to develop
and use relevant evidence
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
What we heard from the consultation
 Conducted according to sound
standards and ethical principles
 Well communicated and used
locally
 Use a shared, broader definition of
research: Application,
Implementation and Evaluation.
 WHO to support and guide
countries; decision making and
accountability is countries'
responsibility.
 Evidence-based policy vital in
WHO’s work and core public health
function
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
WHO Strategy on
Research for Health
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Research for health – Three principles
 Quality - WHO commits itself to high-quality research that is
ethical, expertly reviewed, efficient, effective, accessible to all, and
carefully monitored and evaluated.
 Impact - WHO gives priority to research and innovation that has
the greatest potential to improve global health security, accelerate
health-related development, redress health inequities and help to
attain the Millennium Development Goals.
 Inclusiveness - The Secretariat undertakes to work in
partnership with Member States and stakeholders, to take a
multisectoral approach to research for health, and to support and
promote the participation of communities and civil society in the
research process.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
VISION
decisions and actions to improve health and enhance health
equity are grounded in evidence from research.
MISSION
WHO, Member States and partners work together to harness knowledge, science and
technology to produce research evidence and tools to improve health
CAPACITY
Champion research
that addresses priority
health needs
Support the
development of
robust national health
research systems
STANDARDS
TRANSLATION
Promote good
research practice
Strengthen links
between research,
policy and practice
ORGANIZATION
Strengthen the research culture across WHO
WHO STRATEGY ON RESEARCH FOR HEALTH
5 Goals
PRIORITIES
Organization
Working with Member States and
partners, WHO will:

Establish governance structures to lead, manage,
coordinate and maintain accountability for research
within WHO;

Develop and implement a WHO Code of Good
Research Practice;

Strengthen existing mechanisms for good research
practice;


Code of good
Enhance professional staff competencies;
Research
practice
Improve access
to WHO-affiliated
research by
What success will look like:

WHO staff better understand, value and use evidence
in planning, implementing and evaluating programmes
and activities and in setting norms and standards;

All research supported by WHO adheres to the
Organization’s Code of Good Research Practice and is
subject to scientific review and, where appropriate,
ethical review; every guideline and recommendation is
evidence-based and every article is peer reviewed;

WHO’s role in research and the role of research within
WHO are clearly communicated;

organization; a leader in supporting or performing highquality research; a champion of the need for research
and for being an effective partner in facilitating highquality research at global, regional and country level;
developing a publicly accessible repository;


Improve performance in research partnerships by:
i) reviewing partnership admin processes; and
ii) proactively seeking to engage with partners across
all sectors that impact on research for health;
Improve communications on the Organization’s
involvement in research, monitoring and evaluation of
this strategy.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
WHO a more effective
inasresearch
WHO is partner
widely regarded
a credible, evidence-based

WHO commits sufficient resources to support core
functions necessary for the implementation of the
strategy.
Priorities
Working with Member States and
What success will look like:
partners, WHO will:

Ensure mechanisms are in place to synthesize data on
gaps in research relating to current health and health
system challenges at national and global levels;

Convene high-level consultations to identify and build
consensus around priorities;



greater awareness of, and action on, research priorities
at a national level;

greater awareness of, and action on, research priorities
at a regional and global level;
Produce a report every four years on global research
priorities with an assessment of the alignment of
financial and human resources with research agendas;

improved cooperation and coordination
among research funders and other key partners to
align global resources to meet priority health research
needs;
for such research agendas;

Convene high-level
Develop comprehensive research agendas for specific
Consultation
of funders plans
priority
areas and develop resource-mobilization

Advocate support for research areas;

Strengthen the coherence of WHO research activities
by establishing mechanisms for periodically reviewing
the portfolio of research agendas, including decision
criteria for initiation, course corrections and exit
strategies of programmes.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Better alignment of funders
around priority areas
more robust agendas for research on specific priority
areas that are facilitated by WHO. Greater coherence
and clarity on how WHO is supporting/actively engaged
in these specific agendas.
Capacity
Working with Member States and
partners, WHO will:
What success will look like:

Strengthen advocacy for the value of research and for
the development of robust national health research
systems;
Greater investment in research for health by countries
and from other sectors;

All countries, especially low- and middle-income ones,
have national research strategies;

Develop tools and guidelines for strengthening national
capacity;

External stakeholders align their research investments
with national research strategies;

Promote the development of comprehensive health
information systems to inform national research
priorities;

WHO guidelines on research capacity-strengthening,
including indicators for measuring progress, have been
developed and are being used;

Develop and use standardized indicators to enable selfreporting of the performance of national health research
systems and monitor global progress;
Advocate for strong NHRS

WHO reports progress periodically on national research
capacity and activities through its governing bodies and
information databases;

Facilitate technical assistance to support the
strengthening of national health research systems;


Develop institutional capacity, regional and global
networks, involvement of WHO Collaborating Centres,
to report and share good practice;
Networks of researchers and communities of practice
are actively exchanging experiences and identifying
good practices in strengthening research capacity;

WHO’s research capacity-strengthening efforts incountry are aligned with country needs, resulting in
higher-quality, better-coordinated research activities.


Maximize the impact of research capacitystrengthening efforts through improved alignment of
WHO’s research programmes and activities.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
All countries have national
health research strategies
Standards
Working with Member States and
What success will look like:
partners, WHO will:


Develop a systematic method for selecting, developing,
implementing and evaluating new standards and norms
in line with priorities in research for health;
Develop norms and standards, in line with the guiding
principles of this strategy, for best practice in the
management and use of research;

Public support and trust for health and medical
research is strengthened;

WHO has implemented an improved method for
selecting, developing, implementing and evaluating its
work on norms and standards related to research;

Greater awareness, acceptance, implementation and
compliance with standards for the management and
use of research leading to an improved quality,
efficiency, transparency, accountability and equity in
the research process;

Improved acceptance and compliance with ethical
principles in the conduct of research, and standards
established for accreditation of ethics committees;

Registration of clinical trials according to WHO
standards is adopted by all countries.
Which standards?

Continue to facilitate the development of and set
standards for publicly accessible registries of clinical
trials;

Engage in technical cooperation with Member States to
enable them to adapt, implement and monitor
adherence and compliance to the norms and standards
for research.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Better awareness,
acceptance & compliance
Translation
Working with Member States and
partners, WHO will:

Identify promising translation activities, promote their
use to support decision-making based on the best
available research evidence;

Promote the use of effective technology transfer
models and the evaluation of promising models to
support the timely creation of new products and
services in Member States;
Identify best translation
activities

What success will look like:

Decision-makers act as informed consumers of
research; Researchers are more responsive to the
demand side;

institutional mechanisms are in place for capturing and
sharing lessons learned from research on the demand
for research and how evidence is used in policy and
practice at country level;

Research to understand the translation of evidence into
policy and practice is in place and recognized;

internationally agreed standards are created and widely
applied for the collection, storing and sharing of health
informatics;
Research informs policy &
policy informs research
repositories inclusive of WHO research literature are

Work towards the creation of and compliance with
international standards on health informatics for
research;

Develop, strengthen and evaluate mechanisms for the
systematic development of evidence summaries and
guidance for citizens, patients, clinicians, managers
and policy-makers in Member States;

Systematically analyze barriers and encourage the
development or modification of existing mechanisms to
promote greater access to research results;
Reliable, relevant, appropriate and timely information is
freely available to both producers and users of research
in a format and language they understand;

WHO plays a more prominent role in identifying
effective health interventions and strategies, and
promoting their implementation in Member States.


Develop and articulate a WHO position on open access
to research outputs.
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009

established, well populated, regularly updated and well
used;
VISION
decisions and actions to improve health and enhance health
equity are grounded in evidence from research.
MISSION
WHO, Member States and partners work together to harness knowledge, science and
technology to produce research evidence and tools to improve health
CAPACITY
Champion research
that addresses priority
health needs
Support the
development of
robust national health
research systems
STANDARDS
TRANSLATION
Promote good
research practice
Strengthen links
between research,
policy and practice
ORGANIZATION
Strengthen the research culture across WHO
WHO STRATEGY ON RESEARCH FOR HEALTH
5 Goals
PRIORITIES
A framework for research for health priorities
Research on
neglected
priority
needs
Translation and delivery
of the solution
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)
TDR Research business lines
Lead discovery for drugs
(screening/optimizing drug leads for tropical diseases
Neglected
priority
needs
•
TDR
Selected drug development and
field interventions (TB/HIV,
helminths, other NTD )
•
Innovate vector control
interventions
Translation and delivery
of the solution
• Innovation and access in diagnosis
• Evidence for antimalarial policy and access
• Visceral leishmaniasis elimination
• Integrated community-based interventions
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Research strategy on Foodborne Disease Burden,
its impact and on effective interventions
Priority No 1No
global burden of
FBD estimates
currently exist
Priority No 2
Determinants of burden
partially known but not
synthesized
Research on
neglected
priority
needs
Priority No 3
Food Safety
standard setting,
control and
interventions are
well described but
impact often not
known
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FOS
Translation and delivery
of the solution
Solutions fairly well
described but not always
evidence-based – this
might have to be revisited
after strategy has been
executed in its entirety
Priority No 4
Solutions often not linked to evidence
– this requires re-examination and
new application
WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Links to Bamako and the Global Strategy
Plan of Action (from the IGWG)
WHO
Global Strategy Plan of
Action – No. elements
Strategy
Priorities
Bamako Ministerial Forum
Call for Action by Ministers
1- priorities
Set priorities
2 - cooperation
2% health budget for research
7- sustainable funding
Capacity
3 – capacity R&D for products
Build institutional capacity
2 - cooperation
Regional Cooperation
Build capacity in science through education
Standards
6 – ethical review, QA
Clinical trials
Open access to research outputs, products and
technologies
Translation
2 – strengthen national health
research
Promote translation - 5% of funding to support this
Research in all policies
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Implementation
 Approval by Member States at EB and WHA in 2009
 Review, discussion of governance, financing
 A strategy for implementation; detailed plan needed
 Decentralized implementation-key role for Regional Offices
to implement strategy after alignment with agendas, plans
and strategies
 Incorporation into work plans, country cooperation strategy
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Evaluation
 Evaluation framework developed to give impact-focussed
approach for assessing achievement of vision, mission
and goals
 Framework components: inputs/activities, outputs,
outcomes and impacts
 Indicators for each component defined for tracking
purposes
 Report on progress to governing bodies in 2012
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
"Through the research strategy, what
can WHO do to help democratize R&D
so that knowledge is not just for the
rich and is equitably used to improve
health for all peoples?"
Dr Anarfi Asamoa-Baah
WHO Deputy Director-General
November, 2007
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
Many thanks
Further information can be obtained from:
SharePoint: http://www.who.int/rpc/research_strategy
Robert Terry
Project Manager - WHO Research Strategy,
Research Policy & Cooperation (RPC/IER),
World Health Organization
Email: terryr@who.int
Tel No : +41 22 7912632
Mob No:+41 792446091
Acknowledgements
The WHO strategy on research for health
was developed with support from :
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Wellcome Trust
http://www.who.int/rpc
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WHO Strategy on Research for Health | January 2009
The Department of Health, UK