Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Health research in Latin America

2010; Elsevier BV; Volume: 375; Issue: 9709 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(10)60045-1

1474-547X

Francisco Becerra, Luis Gabriel Cuervo,

Health and Medical Research Impacts

Anastasia Moloney (Sept 26, p 1053)1Moloney A Latin America faces hurdles in health research.Lancet. 2009; 374: 1053-1054Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar identifies gaps and weaknesses in Latin America's health research, and indicates that integrated systems will help boost the amount and quality of health research produced in the region. We would like to highlight some recent developments, stimulated by the first Latin American Conference on Research and Innovation for Health21st Latin American conference on research and innovation for health: conference report results and documentsRio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 15–18, 2008.http://www.cohred.org/sites/default/files/Rio_report_EN_low_res.pdfGoogle Scholar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in April, 2008. Since Rio, regional agreements3Pan American Health OrganizationPublic health, innovation and intellectual property: a regional perspective.http://www.paho.org/english/gov/cd/cd48.r15-e.pdfDate: October, 2008Google Scholar and policies have been developed, and several countries have advanced the development of their research agendas and strengthened their capacities. For example: Paraguay is working towards a formal health research system; El Salvador has included a section on health research in its national health policy; Guatemala has established a coordinating office for health research within the Ministry of Health; and Uruguay has announced the launch of a sectoral fund for health research. Other countries are implementing strategies that strengthen coordination and communication, and are sharing and learning from each other's experience.4EVIPNet Americas SecretariatEVIPNet Americas: informing policies with evidence.Lancet. 2008; 372: 1130-1131Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (19) Google Scholar These topics, and advances since the conference in Rio, were reviewed in a meeting on Nov 15–16, 2009, in Havana, Cuba. The Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED), and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) are collaborating to support the strengthening of national health research systems in the region. The 49th Directing Council of PAHO approved on Sept 30, 2009, the PAHO Policy on Research for Health.5Pan American Health Organization49th Directing Council61st Session of the Regional Committee of WHO for the AmericasPolicy on research for health: document CD49/10. PAHO, Washington, DC2009http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1640&Itemid=1425&lang=enGoogle Scholar The approval of this policy re-emphasises the need for a systems focus for research development in the region, and shows commitment by health authorities to providing adequate governance and stewardship. The political support provided by PAHO and its Directing Council (in which all Member States are represented) will further help advance research in the region. Furthermore, COHRED and PAHO are working with countries in the region to use management and benchmarking tools such as Health Research Web to provide access to information and to facilitate exchange on national systems for health research. We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.