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FORUM ADRESSES NEED TO INFLUENCE HEALTH POLICY

The annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research has become established as a premier annual event that brings together policy-makers, development partners and the directors and users of research, to debate critical gaps and to mobilize campaigns that address the health needs of the poor and marginalized. The Global Forum's 2006 annual meeting, Forum 10, was organized at the invitation of the Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt.
The Global Forum for Health Research is an independent international foundation which promotes more health research to combat neglected diseases and conditions that are major sources of ill health in developing countries. The Forum also aims to reduce other inequities in health and health research.

Forum meeting covers diet and weight

Forum 10 was held from 29 October to 2 November 2006 in Cairo, Egypt, and brought together around 600 participants from 90 countries. It was opened by the First Lady of Egypt, Suzanne Mubarak, with Egypt's Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabalay. Themes included maternal mortality, the importance of reproductive health, gender equity, social determinants of health status and violence against women.

A session on diet and cardiovascular diseases pointed to the causal relationship between the “nutrition transition” to energy-dense, nutrient-poor processed foods high in fats and sugar and the surging prevalence of chronic diseases, particularly among the poor. Globalization was discussed as a driver of the trend.

An appropriate response would be to adjust health policies to take into account globalization’s impact on diet, said Corinna Hawkes of the International Food Policy Research Institute, USA. The adjustments could include promoting healthier foods and influencing transnational food companies, she said.

Panelists concurred that the rising epidemic of overweight and obesity should be considered an economic as well as a health problem for the high costs it imposes on industries and society.

Communicating the research

There was much discussion about making better use of health research to influence policies and behaviours. It was generally accepted that the health research community inadequately communicates its findings, creating a knowledge deficit.

The “know-do” gap, i.e. the proportion of the burden of disease which can be addressed with known solutions, should be measured at the highest level. The WHO Knowledge Enterprise in Health (KEH) survey, a methodology developed by WHO, is a first step of a systematic approach to this challenge and opportunity for public health. This approach aims to profile knowledge management and translation into action in countries which target the study of mechanisms and systems of knowledge acquisition, creation, dissemination, application and improvement.

Research done through Medline showed that on average only 20% of sub-Saharan researchers publish in their own country. However, in order to attract and retain research and scientific talent, these countries would need the publications and expertise in-country. Most research findings are published in peer-reviewed journals in industrialized countries and are not communicated directly to national policy-makers to assist in decision-making and policy formulation in the field.

Among the ideas to improve access to health information and disseminate research information more effectively were: making the language of research papers more accessible by reducing technical jargon; undertaking more research on what constitutes effective communication; and training health researchers to work with the media rather than simply use it.

Where’s the money going?

The Global Forum reported that annual global spending for health research rose to US$ 125.8 billion in 2003 from US$ 105.9 billion in 2001. However, some doubt was expressed over whether the 20% increase would “take account of the changing epidemiological and demographic profiles of developing countries, rather than remaining concentrated on a few high-profile diseases and conditions.”

“Not enough of these resources are being devoted to tackling the health problems of people in developing countries,” said the Global Forum’s Executive Director Stephen Matlin. “We have to ask ourselves where these increases in funding are being applied. Will they eventually reach the scale necessary to ensure adequate financing for the full range of research needed to tackle the health problems of poor and marginalized populations around the globe?

The report noted that deaths from cardiovascular disease would increase to 23.3 million in 2030 from 17 million in 2003. It said that tobacco smoking – a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease – would 2015 kill 50% more people than HIV/AIDS and be responsible for 10% of all deaths.

Reason for optimism

At the same time, Prof. Matlin said that “the role of established risk factors is much greater than commonly thought, and the causes are known for more than two-thirds of many major diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The potential is huge for improving health and reducing mortality through research to develop cost-effective interventions to reduce a relatively small number of risks.”

The World Heart Federation was represented at the Forum by Science Information Officer Danielle Grizeau-Clemens.

The 11th Global Forum for Health Research is scheduled to take place 29 October to 2 November 2007, in Beijing. The theme will be “Equitable Access: Research challenges for health in developing countries.” To learn more about the Forum visit: http://www.globalforumhealth.org/Site/000__Home.php