CONFERENCE REPORT International Conference on Health Research for Development Conference Report Bangkok 10-13 October 2000 For copies of this publication and/or further information, please contact the Conference Secretariat at: Tel: +41-22-9178558 Fax: +41-22-9178015 email: [email protected] The report can also be downloaded from the International Conference on Health Research for Development’s website at www.conference2000.ch I CONFERENCE REPORT Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Bangkok Declaration on Health Research for Development ............................................................ 2 A. Health Research for Development – Background and Context .............................................. 4 1. Health for All – A Continued Challenge ................................................................... 4 2. International Health Research Initiatives in the 1990s ............................................ 5 3. The Current Situation ................................................................................................ 8 4. The Unfinished Agenda ........................................................................................... 10 5. Planning the Conference .......................................................................................... 11 B. Pre-Conference Consultations and Analyses ..................................................................................13 1. The Regional Perspective......................................................................................... 13 2. Perspectives of Donors and Development Partners............................................... 16 3. Consultative (‘Synthesis’) Meeting.......................................................................... 17 C. Revitalization of Health Research.........................................................................................................19 1. Key Features of a Revitalized Health Research System ........................................ 20 2. Elements of an Effective Health Research System................................................. 20 3. Characteristics of an Effective Global Governance Structure ............................... 27 4. Inter-relationships between Major Global Players................................................. 29 D. Key Challenges ............................................................................................................................................. 34 1. Values ........................................................................................................................34 2. Sustainable Health Research Systems .................................................................... 35 3. Research Environment ............................................................................................. 37 4. Knowledge Production and Application ................................................................. 38 E. The Conference: Process and Debates.............................................................................................. 40 1. Participants ............................................................................................................... 40 2. Major Features of the Conference ........................................................................... 41 3. Reports ...................................................................................................................... 42 4. Process ...................................................................................................................... 43 ii CONFERENCE REPORT 5. Plenary Sessions ....................................................................................................... 44 6. Group Work ............................................................................................................. 44 7. Parallel Sessions ....................................................................................................... 50 F. Action Plan...................................................................................................................................................... 62 Bibliography........................................................................................................................................................... 68 Conference Documents .................................................................................................. 68 References ....................................................................................................................... 69 Further Reading ............................................................................................................. 70 Annex 1 - Conference Programme ..............................................................................................................71 Annex 2 - Opening Addresses ..................................................................................................................... 91 Annex 3 - Keynote Addresses .....................................................................................................................105 Annex 4 - Excerpts from Introductions to Group Work and Plenary Panels .........................129 Annex 5 - Concluding Reflections: ............................................................................................................155 Annex 6 - Conference Committees and Administration ................................................................. 161 Annex 7 - Participants .................................................................................................................................... 165 III CONFERENCE REPORT iv PREFACE PREFACE As chair of the International Organizing Committee (IOC) of the International Conference on Health Research for Development (Bangkok, October 2000), it is my pleasure to present the Conference Report. The Bangkok Conference comprised three and a half days of key-note speeches, stimulating debates, focused group work sessions and broad-ranging technical discussions. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for any report to cover in detail all the facts, opinions, controversies and ideas put forward in the various sessions. However, the rapporteur of the Conference, Marian Jacobs, has captured, not only the main conclusions of the Conference, but also the motivation of the organizers, the ‘flavour’ of the meeting, and the positive spirit in which it took place. The report moves in chronological order: from summaries of pre-conference activities such as the consultative processes in six regions, the consultations held with international donors and other stakeholders in health research, and the global consultative meeting, to the discussion document, and the resulting key challenges used as a basis for group discussion at the Conference. It then presents highlights from the Conference itself: participants, organization, major features; and moves on to a discussion of the strategies adopted by the International Organizing Committee to ensure that everything that happened prior to, during, and after the Conference was documented. I should like to express the IOC’s gratitude to our Thai hosts for their hospitality, and for their efficient and professional approach in the local arrangements for this Conference. We also note with sadness the passing away of Prof Ramalingaswami in May 2001. He was a doyen of the global health research movement and a key contributor to the Conference. Finally, on behalf of the four main organizers (COHRED, the Global Forum for Health Research, the World Bank and WHO), I thank the following agencies for their financial contributions: The Rockefeller Foundation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Department for Research Cooperation, SIDA/ SAREC), Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Government of the Netherlands, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the European Commission. Julio Frenk Chair International Organizing Committee 1 BANGKOK DECLARATION BANGKOK DECLARATION ON HEALTH RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT The International Conference on Health research for development brought together more than 800 participants representing a wide range of stakeholders in health research from developing and developed countries. Conference participants from over one hundred countries welcomed the interactive and participatory nature of the discussions. Having reviewed the reports from the various regional and country consultations, and taking into account both the in-depth analysis of progress in health research over the past decade and the discussions before and during the meeting, We the participants make the following Declaration. The Conference reaffirms that health is a basic human right. Health research is essential for improvements not only in health but also in social and economic development. Rapid globalization, new understanding of human biology, and the information technology revolution pose new challenges and opportunities. Social and health disparities, both within and between countries, are growing. Given these global trends, a focus on social and gender equity should be central to health research. In addition, health