Merger of COHRED and Global Forum for Health Research completed

Geneva, Switzerland, April 27, 2022 – COHRED and the Global Forum for Health Research, based in Geneva, Switzerland, announced today that the integration of both organizations has now been completed. The new organization will build upon COHRED’s portfolio of services and tools that support countries to strengthen governance and management of research and innovation for health, equity and socio-economic development, including its Health Research Web platform; and on the Global Forum’s influential international conference on research and innovation for health and its tracking of resource flows in health research. The new organization remains based in Geneva with staff in Switzerland, Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico, Tunisia and South Africa.

During the First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, in which the Global Forum was a core partner, the latest volumes in two important series were launched.

The anthology of essays from under-30-year-old researchers brings fresh approaches to the challenges of universal health coverage. Their authors are the winners and finalists of the fifth competition jointly organized by the Global Forum and The Lancet, this time under the auspices of the Symposium. Preface by Timothy G. Evans.

Global Forum Update on Research for Health volume 7

COHRED and Global Forum for Health Research agree to organizational integration

National research and innovation for health will be strengthened by global platform, and global advocacy will get an anchor in national research systems

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), based at the South African Medical Research Council in Cape Town, receives promising feedback in a recent review.

Report Launch

Young Researchers for Health 2010

The Global Forum for Health Research together with the WHO Scientific Resource Group (SRG) on Equity Analysis and Research and the People's Health Movement (PHM) are very pleased to announce the four civil society organizations (CSOs) to be awarded with a grant of US$ 10,000 as the result from the call for research proposal from CSOs.

The Global Forum for Health Research highlights the growing need for cancer care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in a ‘Call to Action’ paper published online in the Lancet (August 16, 2022).

Once considered a disease which primarily affects developing nations, cancer is now a leading cause of death and disability for poorer populations. Almost two-thirds of the 7.6 million cancer deaths in the world occur in LMICs.

The Global Forum for Health Research together with the WHO Scientific Resource Group (SRG) on Equity Analysis and Research and the People's Health Movement (PHM) are very pleased to announce that 93 proposals from 53 countries were received from the call for research proposals from civil society organizations (CSOs).

The Global Forum welcomes WHO’s first comprehensive strategy on research for health and looks forward to its implementation. It also welcomes its WHA Resolution 63.2 on WHO’s role and responsibilities in health research.

EU presents its new global health policy framework at the WHA

The European Union should improve its collaborations with other global health regions, Professor Anthony Mbewu, Executive Director of The Global Forum told a World Health Assembly satellite meeting.

Experts from Brazil, Thailand and South Africa joined representatives from the EU, the World Health Organization and Global Health Europe to discuss the new EU policy framework on “the EU Role in Global Health”.

Regarding research and evidence, Professor Mbewu pushed for the EU to do more on the social and economic determinants of health and to partner with developing countries on health promotion, social and behavioural research.

Global Forum experts joined the Harvard School of Public Health and partners to commemorate the launch of a revolutionary report by the Commission on Health Research for Development.

The Global Forum for Health Research has joined the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), a partnership that works to advance the development of new health-related technologies in the developing world.

Discussions and interviews from Forum 2009 in Havana are featured in an article which outlines Cuba’s approach to delivering healthcare.

Andrew Jack, pharmaceuticals correspondent for the Financial Times, describes that the country can, through developing an innovative healthcare model, provide medical assistance to other nations as well as its own population.

Forum 2009 – titled ‘Innovating for the Health of All’ – focused on the role of innovation in achieving health equity for poor and disadvantaged populations.

Call for research proposals from civil society organizations (CSOs)

• What are the timeline requirements imposed by the grant?

• Are there any restrictions on the health fields included in the research (i.e. TB, HIV/AIDS, Cancer)?

• What is the maximum amount of money available to support the research/evaluation work?

• The USD 10,000 prize for the research/evaluation is only one component of the overall project that I am undertaking. Should I only include the budget for the prize or for the total project?

• Would an initiative by a local government in cooperation with many stakeholders in the community be eligible?

• Are university lecturers eligible to apply?

• Is there a template/application form?

LMICs devote less than 1% of their health investment in mental health.
Addressing the pressing need of improving research capacity is a priority.

The Global Forum for Health Research believes that responsive and high quality health systems are those that use research to inform decision-makers.

Dr Téa Collins, from the Global Forum, spoke at Global Health Information Forum and Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) in Bangkok, Thailand about the importance of health systems research in improving health outcomes.

Marta Feletto, Senior Scientist with the Global Forum, undertook a study to ascertain the extent of financed research carried out on communicable diseases (CDs) and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in 2008, at the request of the WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing.

The First Latin American Conference on Research and Innovation for Health (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15-18 April 2008) - co-organized by the Global Forum - provided key insights into national research and innovation systems for health in that region.

Young Voices Winners 2009

This has been another very productive year for the Global Forum for Health Research. Working under its Strategy 2008-14, the Global Forum has expanded the scope of its work, its visibility and its impact to promote more research to improve the health of the poorest and most disadvantaged populations.

The Global Forum welcomes the growing momentum regarding climate change but much more is still needed. Research for health and health equity is rarely included in climate change agendas.

All the team at the Global Forum would like to thank you for your continued interest. We wish you a great holiday season and send you our best wishes for 2010!

Prominent South African researcher to head Global Forum for Health Research

Geneva, 23 October 2022 - The Foundation Council of the Global Forum for Health Research today announced the appointment of Anthony Mbewu BA MBBS FRCP MD FMASSAf as its new Executive Director as of January 2010.

In recognition of the importance of priority setting in health, the Global Forum for Health Research published in 2004 a tool called the Combined Approach Matrix (CAM). The rationale of the CAM is to bring together a large range of factors, along different dimensions, into a single analytical tool.

Within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem, the World Health Organization predicts.

Erik Landriault from the Global Forum for Health Research, recently discussed FWB’s engagement for Forum 2009 with Tim Hurson, President of thinkx intellectual capital and FWB director.

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) recently hosted its first ever conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, entitled “SVRI Forum 2009: Coordinated evidence-based responses to end sexual violence”. The forum brought together over 200 participants from over 28 countries. Sylvie Olifson-Houriet, member of the SVRI Coordinating Group and Global Forum representative, was involved in several ways.

On Thursday 19 November one session in each of the slots for parallel sessions (morning and afternoon) will be devoted to lightning talks. Need illumination? Read on …

The aim is to engage participants and provide a space for learning and knowledge creation. A lightning talk is a brief, maximum five-minute presentation that allows participants to become acquainted with an individual’s views and project.

Absolutely no Power Point presentations are allowed!

Innovating for the health of all is composed of different types of sessions and activities. Global experts who will frame the major issues and engage the audience in discussion include:

Innovating for the health of all was the theme of the 2009 essay competition Young Voices in Research for Health jointly organized by the Geneva-based Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet.

One of the constituencies with which the Global Forum for Health Research seeks to engage, as having a huge influence on research for health, is the media.

The Global Forum for Health Research was able to keep research for health on the agenda of the World Health Assembly (WHA).

At the 2002 Barcelona European Council, Heads of State and Government agreed that R&D investment in the European Union (EU) must be increased with the aim of approaching 3% of GDP by 2010, up from 1.9% in 2000. According to the latest available data, included in the forthcoming Monitoring Financial Flows report of the Global Forum for Health Research, EU countries were investing US$ 269.6 bn in R&D (1.9% of GDP). This is US$ 166.2 bn short of the target.

The Global Forum for Health Research is pleased to announce that you can now consult issues of our Newsletter online.

Meeting in Geneva this month for the high-level segment annual ministerial review, delegates to the UN Economic and Social Council called for countries to keep their promises on health-related commitments, including the fulfilment of all official development assistance-related commitments.

More than 30 articles have now been commissioned for this year’s Global Forum Update on Research for Health. The update is a major and prestigious publication of the Global Forum for Health Research, which provides insights into the newest thinking on gaps, priorities and case studies in health research for development.

The Global Forum for Health Research and the Lancet announce the list of essays selected for publication in the anthology Young Voices in Research for Health 2009 that will appear in November.

The Global Forum for Health Research attended a recent invitation-only conference in Geneva on the human impact of climate change. The conference considered a blueprint for action that would help shape public policy while also addressing unmet health needs and reducing health inequities.

Forum 2009 is composed of different types of sessions and activities. The multiplicity of types of “meeting opportunities” is deliberate and reflects the very nature of the Global Forum: catalytic, flexible, inclusive, bringing together many partners to contribute to all aspects of the discussion, a network of networks.

In a recent meeting with WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, Bill Gates identified innovation as one of the keys to uplifting the lives of the poor and improving their health.

Congratulations on your 70th birthday!

Over 400 ideas for sessions, presentations and activities during Forum 2009 were contributed, following the Global Forum's call.

Geneva, 21 May 2022

An important symbolic step towards Forum 2009 – Innovating for the health of all – was taken during the World Health Assembly held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

30 April 2022

Téa Collins, Health Systems Specialist at the Global Forum for Health Research, was interviewed by a journalist from the Medical Confederation of Argentina.

Looking towards Forum 2009 in Cuba, with its theme of Innovating for the health of all, two national seminars took place in April in Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

Policies for innovation...

Full publication