Neil thank you for sharing this paper.
I like this title, ‘complex relationship between Science and Policy’, especially looking back to my service in Government and in a LLMIC for that matter (incidentally the BMJ West Africa Local edition had only a few years earlier in 2000 introduced Evidence Based Practice to Nigeria). We tried to let science drive the policies, as, partly captured in: (‘How to rebuild global health: Joseph Ana’s book describes how he turned around the failing health system in a southern Nigerian state. Richard Smith BMJ 2010; 341:c5520 doi: 10.1136/bmj.c5520 ).
And out of office, our focus on the home-grown 12-Pillar Clinical Governance programme has led to collaborations with organisations that have similar quality agenda, such as the Knowledge Translation Unit (KTU) of University of Cape Town, South Africa, to use evidence-based Tools to promote competence in primary health care (Using a mentorship model to localise the practical approach to care kit (PACK): from South Africa to Nigeria. BMJ Global Health - DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001079 ).
But, with the coming of Covid-19 pandemic, it appears that whether in the Global North or South, policy is increasing driven by factors beyond science, ironically, in the years when we are all witnessing the highest level of activity in research and scientific endeavours, as it appears that money is no longer a challenge: the factors driving policy appears to be more of The Polls, proximity of political elections, and the political ideology of the party in power. Most scientists and academicians can be praised for their persisting to release the result of their research, and leaving the politicians to embrace non science!.
Joseph Ana.
HIFA profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Consultant and Trainer at the Africa Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). In 2015 he won the NMA Award of Excellence for establishing 12-Pillar Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety initiative in Nigeria. He has been the pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) National Committee on Clinical Governance and Research since 2012. He is also Chairman of the Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act. He is a pioneer Trustee-Director of the NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. He is particularly interested in strengthening health systems for quality and safety in LMICs. He has written Five books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance for LMICs, including a TOOLS for Implementation. He established the Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health in the Cross River State Ministry of Health, Nigeria in 2007. Website: www.hri-global.org. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group and the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers.
Website: www.hri-global.com Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group and the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers.
http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0
http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group
Email: info@hri-global.org and jneana@yahoo.co.uk
