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This book looks at the contribution of health research to development and, in particular, the equity dimension of development. Its title, Forging Links for Health Research, is a reference to the 1990 report of the Commission on Health Research for Development, Health Research: Essential Link to Equity in Development. In this report, the Commission asserted that research has the power to “enable developing countries to strengthen health action and to discover new and more effective means to deal with unsolved health problems” (CHRD 1990, p. xix). It also reflected on the need for stronger links between all stakeholders in the health-research process, if it is to be truly an integral part of development.

The Commission established the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) to work with developing countries in implementing the Essential National Health Research (ENHR) strategy, which aims at furthering equity in health development. COHRED offers technical support to enable countries to implement ENHR and works with national research leaders to promote health research as a tool for development, establish research priorities, strengthen mechanisms to support research, and build research and user capacities. COHRED also works to bring about interaction between leaders in health research, within and between countries, so that these countries can share experiences and insights on the implementation of the ENHR strategy.

This volume presents the views and experiences of a number of individuals, groups, and institutions involved in ENHR over the past decade. It highlights the key achievements, as well as the setbacks, since the 1990s and the prospects for health research in the coming decades. The book has three parts. The first of these has three chapters. Chapter 1 gives an account of the main events of the past decade in health research for development. Chapter 2 is an essay on the evolving understanding of inequities in health. Chapter 3 offers an analysis of the contribution of health research to human development. Part II focuses mainly on the country experience of three aspects of the health-research process: promoting community participation (Chapter 4), translating research into action and policy (Chapter 5), and strengthening the capacities of national health-research systems (Chapter 6). Chapter 7 then gives “snapshots” of the health-research situation in several regions and provides an analysis of the contribution of regional arrangements to national health-research efforts. The final part looks to the future. It has two chapters. Chapter 8 tells the COHRED story, including its efforts to assess its own contributions and find ways to meet future challenges. This chapter also presents the views of national health-research leaders from developing countries. The final chapter summarizes important realities confronting the global health-research community at the beginning of the new century and presents key challenges for those responsible for national health-research systems, especially those committed to making health research a stronger tool for equitable health development.

As indicated in the list of authors in Appendix 1 and in the acknowledgments below, this book was a collaborative effort of many individuals, particularly those from low- to middle-income countries. Most chapters are the result of a participatory writing process, in which a group of colleagues provided feedback to one or more lead writers. As well, health-research leaders in a number of developing countries contributed their views on the way ahead, through a series of in-depth interviews.

The book thus combines a look into the mirror of the past with an attempt to gaze into the crystal ball of what lies ahead. In other words, it uses reflections from the past to take us forward into the uncharted territory of the future. We hope that it will contribute to the continuing dialogue between all involved travelers and help steer the journey toward more equitable health development.

Charas Suwanwela
Chair, COHRED Board

Yvo Nuyens
COHRED Coordinator

Document(s) 1 of 21