History
In the late 1990s, a group of visionary people decided that the world needed a global view in health research. As a result, the Global Forum for Health Research was established as an independent international foundation in Switzerland in 1998.
In 2008, the Global Forum celebrated 10 years of achievements, having:
- effectively advocated around the "10/90" gap and driven the case for better targeted and prioritized research to address the health needs of poor populations
- provided a forum for exchange, learning and innovation to decision-makers in research, funding and policy
- developed high-quality evidence and tools that help guide decisions in research for health.
The Global Forum's origins lay in the recognition of three key facts:
- Improving health is not only an outcome of development but also a prerequisite for development. Consequently, investment in health yields one of the highest rates of return that a country can achieve.
- Improving health requires the effective application of existing research. It also, crucially, requires research aimed at creating new knowledge and new technologies. This includes the whole spectrum of research:
- biomedical sciences (creating affordable and accessible new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and appliances)
- health systems and policy research
- social sciences
- political sciences
- health economics
- behavioural and operational research
- research into the relationship between health and the cultural, physical, political and social environments.
- Few of the world’s resources for health research are directed to solving the health problems of developing countries.
Resources
Further reading
Global Forum Health Research 1998-2008:10th Anniversary (PDF)
Download 10th Anniversary brochure in French
Read Anniversary messages from around the world.