Dear HIFA colleagues,
On Thursday 9th November The Lancet, in partnership with HIFA, held a Research for Health Spotlight webinar on medical research as a catalyst for policy and societal change, to celebrate 200 years of The Lancet. The recording is freely available with registration here: https://hubs.li/Q02b27LC0
At one point, we were each asked: "What would success look like to you over the next 10 years?" Below are notes of our responses.
I opened the discussion by suggesting that the key measure of success is the strength of the global evidence ecosystem [ https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa/hifa-vision-mission-strategy ]. The central purpose of the system is to ensure that every person, every health worker and every policymaker will have access to the reliable healthcare information they need to protect their own health and the health of others. The availability and use of relevant, reliable healthcare information is globally recognised as a determinant of the right to health. The single most important step to strengthen the global evidence ecosystem would be for the World Health Organization to commit explicitly to the goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information, and I hope they will do so in the next 1-2 years.
Vivian Kwang-wen Lin (University of Hong Kong) called for an increase in the capacity and infrastructure of academic instituions to be able to engage with policymakers, including knowledge brokers who would seek out relevant information for policymkakers. She would like to see increased investment in health policy and systems research in the Global South. She also called for more investment in children's education to foster enthusiasm and trust in science.
Joseph Ravenell (New York University) focused on strengthening and streamlining the processes for community engagement, with more research being driven by community priorities; brokers to help knowledge translation for the public good; and avoidance of miscasting of science for political agendas.
Padma Padmapriya (National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai) echoed the theme of community-driven research. More opportunities are needed for community engagement and questions, and research should be driven more by communities and less by funders.
This section of our discussion lasted 8 minutes and can be reviewed at: https://hubs.li/Q02b27LC0 (50:45-58:45)
HIFA colleagues: What does success look like to you? Please send your thoughts by email to the forum: hifa@hifaforums.org
With thanks, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
