Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
13-15 April 2008.

ACHR / CAIS

Dr. Mirta Roses, PASB Director, convened the 42nd Session of the Advisory Committee on Health Research (ACHR) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-15 April, 2007. Present at the meeting in addition to ACHR members were Dr. Roses, members of the ACHR Secretariat and other PASB staff, and a number of distinguished guests, primarily public health officials and academicians from the host country and from all over the American Region and representatives from international funding agencies.

Dr. Luis Sambo, Director of WHO's Regional Office for Africa, was also briefly present at the meeting and delivered a few words highlighting the key role of research to enable development, health and equity.

Objectives of the meeting
The objectives of the meeting were to:

(a) discuss the drafting of PAHO's new research policy with ACHR members and other collaborators;

(b) update the ACHR and other participants on the progress and implementation of PAHO's technical cooperation projects and activities in health research and their alignment with WHO's projects and activities;

(c) inform participants about the current vision of the research policy development and consultation process, the ACHR's role in it, and

(d) promote a constructive dialogue among participants and the exchange of information surrounding the ACHR.

PAHO's Health Research Policy consultation with Member States
Although research has been always present in PAHO's activities, this is the first time that the Organization is developing an explicit policy for consultation with member states, to guide its research activities in keeping with international mandates that underline the key role of research in attaining the Millenium Development Goals and in improving public health, equity, and health systems throughout the world.

It also reflects the recognition that research is instrumental to the fulfillment of several core functions linked to WHO's Eleventh General Programme of Work 2006-2015, with which the PASB's Strategic Plan 2008-2012 is aligned. The fundamental aim of PAHO's Health Research Policy is to strengthen national health research systems in Latin America and the Caribbean so as to improve equity, health, and development.

Speakers at the ceremony
Dr. Mirta Roses, PASB Director, delivered words of welcome at an opening ceremony on the evening of 13 April and participated throughout the discussions that ensued over the next two days. Welcoming and introductory remarks were also pronounced by Ing. Diego Victoria, PAHO/WHO Representative in Brazil, and Dr. Luis Gabriel Cuervo, Secretary of the ACHR and leader of the PASB's Research Promotion and Development Team (THR/RC). Leading the discussions throughout the entire session was Dr. John Lavis, President of the ACHR.

Working Groups
Participants were divided into working groups for in-depth scrutiny of the draft research policy document to be presented to PAHO's Governing Bodies in 2009. ACHR members, PAHO staff, and special guests reviewed the draft policy document and worked in groups providing constructive feedback. Based on the latter, recommendations were issued, discussed and proposed for their incorporation into the PAHO research policy draft. Working group participants included WHO staff engaged in the development of WHO's Research Strategy, a key contribution considering the challenge of having to align the research policy with WHO's Research Strategy that is being developed in parallel.

Harmonization and cohesion between PAHO's Research Policy and WHO's Research Strategy.
There were also several additional presentations. They looked primarily at harmonization and cohesion between PAHO's Research Policy and WHO's Research Strategy, the work of the Inter-Governmental Working Group (IGWG) on Public Health Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights and its impact on health research, and the progress made to date by the ACHR Secretariat across its portfolio of initiatives.

These focus on promoting the ethical conduct of research, the equitable dissemination of research results, the use of these results to inform public health practice throughout the Region, and the preparation of guidelines for developing PAHO guidelines and recommendations based on the best available scientific evidence.

Conclusions
The ACHR congratulated its Secretariat for the progress achieved in its individual projects and activities and expressed its support for these and for its work in connection with establishing a research policy for the Organization. The draft research policy will be modified in accordance with the recommendations issued at the meeting, and there will be a round of further consultations with other stakeholders throughout the Region and beyond before the final document is readied for presentation to PAHO's Governing Bodies.

More Information:
Research Coordination. Advisory Committee on Health Research (ACHR). PAHO Website
Coordinación de Investigaciones. Comité Asesor de Investigaciones en Salud (CAIS). Sitio Web de la OPS.

See also:
Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau opens the first Latin American Conference on Research and Innovation for Health. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 15-18 April 2008.
2008 Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health. Bamako, Mali, 17-19 November 2008.