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Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) are pleased to announce a CA $8 million research collaboration in Southeast Asia on infectious disease emergence and prevention.

CIDA, through the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI), will provide a CA $4 million grant over a six-year period to the collaboration. An additional CA $1.5 million is being contributed by AusAID. IDRC will invest CA $2.6 million, with an additional CA $1 million being used to share lessons learned with South Asia and Africa.

 

Avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), hemorrhagic dengue and other pandemics originated in Southeast Asia, making it known as a global ‘hot spot’ for disease emergence. The causes and impacts of these diseases in the region are linked in complex cycles fuelled by social inequity, poverty, and environmental degradation.

 

These local causes have global impacts. The H1NI flu virus reminded the world that infectious diseases know no border, making it essential for countries to work together to prevent new diseases.

 

This new initiative will support multi-country research teams as they examine how new diseases emerge in Southeast Asia and identify what can be done to prevent their spread among vulnerable populations.

 

Supported researchers will collaborate across disciplines and sectors to address how poverty, gender, and environmental degradation contribute to disease emergence – which have been little studied to date. Local researchers will also be supported in their efforts to provide decision-makers with policy guidance using their findings.

 

The initiative will be built around the scientific concepts of ‘Ecosystem approaches to human health.’ This approach analyses the links between humans and their environment and seeks development solutions that protect the health and livelihoods of humans and the ecosystems on which they depend.

 

For more information please contact:

Martin Wiese, PhD,
Senior Programme Specialist
Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health
International Development Research Centre
mwiese@idrc.ca  
(1-613) 696-2004
web.idrc.ca/ecohealth    

News 49 of 223