Global Health Research Initiative (2003) (Archived)

Request for Applications - Archive

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Health Canada (HC), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) are pleased to announce Global Health Research Pilot Project Grants

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CIHR Institutes supporting this Strategic Initiative:

Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health
Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health
Institute of Gender and Health
Institute of Health Services and Policy Research
Institute of Infection and Immunity
Institute of Population and Public Health (lead)


Table of Contents

Introduction
Background
Eligible Research Areas
Total Funds Available
Research Programs
Partners’ Research Focus
Contact for Further Information

Introduction

The goal of this strategic initiative is to build research capacity by supporting innovative high risk, pilot or feasibility research on ecological, technological, economic, political and socio-cultural forces that influence health, and/or major health and health systems problems that affect vulnerable populations in low, middle and high-income countries.

In April 2001, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Health Canada (HC), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) embarked on the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI), a cooperative arrangement to build upon and coordinate Canada's global health research activities. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), these four organizations agreed to collaborate on global health research and endeavor to identify mechanisms for collaboration, including at least the following:

  • Parallel or complementary funding of different components of joint research programs;
  • Joint review of projects and programs through participation in relevant approval committees;
  • Co-funding of international health research projects and programs (for example, global health systems work, of relevance to improve the performance of both the Canadian health system and those of developing countries; the impact of violence on health in developing countries; adapting promising findings with respect to HIV/AIDS interventions in Canada to developing country settings).

In May 2002, a Request for Applications (RFA) was jointly issued for one-year Research Program Development and Planning Grants. Response to the RFA was considerable and further underscored the need to build global health research capacity in low and middle-income countries, as well as strengthen collaborations between researchers in rich and poorer nations. The 72 multi-institutional projects submitted to the CIHR-led peer-reviewed competition demonstrated Canada's capacity to build unique cross-disciplinary, multi-sectoral and multi-cultural teams with a common goal to develop effective and sustainable solutions to critical global health issues. A total of 2.65 million dollars has been awarded to 31 Canadian researchers (in partnership with researchers resident in low- and middle-income countries) to address a wide spectrum of urgent global health issues

This year, the Global Health Research Pilot Project Grants program is one of many innovative ways that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Health Canada and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), are working together under the GHRI agreement. An exploratory and complementary component of this RFA, administered through IDRC, will explore the feasibility and effectiveness of directly funding low- and middle-income country-based research programs through the Global Health Research Initiative.

Background

Millions of people die or suffer needlessly every year in developing countries from largely preventable causes. There is a strong relationship between poor health and poverty for both individuals and nations. People who are ill often become poorer, especially in low-income countries where the costs of medical treatment, and the associated, uncompensated disability, often drive families into deep poverty. Increasing evidence suggests that ill health can create a considerable burden on economic development and growth.

As our recent experience with Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has demonstrated, diseases know no borders. Health threats and issues in other countries increasingly impact on the health of Canadians and the Canadian health care system. Canada's health status is increasingly affected, like that of many countries, by global ecological, technological, economic, political and socio-cultural forces. Understanding these "upstream" forces, and their health impacts on vulnerable populations in low, middle and high-income countries - is critical to the future health of all global citizens.

The advent of the "global village" is associated with a number of potential health hazards. These include the more rapid spread of infectious diseases, some of which are increasingly resistant to treatment; and the increased adoption of unhealthy "Western" lifestyles by larger numbers of people. A number of activities to promote economic growth draw upon natural resources which are rapidly becoming depleted, producing toxic emissions with both direct and indirect human health effects. Social, economic and environmental programs and policies (such as health, education and social welfare programs) that enhance the capacities of citizens by building human and social capital can also exert a significant "buffering" influence on these global health threats.

A balanced global health research agenda therefore focuses not only on the global burden of disease but also on the social, political, environmental and economic contexts within which these diseases occur. Assessment of Inherently Global Health Issues (IGHIs) can help complement a focus on specific diseases or vulnerable groups of the populations. The following IGHIs have been suggested as priorities for global health research1: environmental global degradation (e.g. climate change, biodiversity loss, water shortage and pollution), social/economic issues (e.g. poverty, inappropriate taxation and inadequate social welfare programs), and cross-cutting issues (e.g. gender inequities, food (in)security, trade of harmful products such as tobacco, illicit drugs and weapons; governance, war and conflict).

While much progress has been made in developing and implementing cost-effective interventions to combat these threats to global health, relatively modest investments in research on the health problems of developing countries and on global health priorities could go a long way towards achieving both better health outcomes and more sustainable interventions in the long-term.

Canadian researchers have much to learn from low and middle-income countries' efforts to promote and improve the health of their populations in the face of globalization. By sharing lessons learned and best practices, Canadian researchers can build on a longstanding history of global health research contributions and increase their understanding of the health impacts of broad social and economic policies that can only be studied by comparisons across nation-states over time.

The following documents address relevant issues to the Global Health Research Initiative. Please visit the Discussion Papers and Publications section of the GHRI-CIHR Website.

  • Enhancing the Opportunities; Renewing the Future: Concept Paper by Allan Ronald
  • Setting Global Health Priorities for Funding Canadian Researchers
  • Towards a Healthier Global Village: Consolidating Canadian Capacity for Global Health Policy and Systems Research

Eligible Research Areas

In addition to potential focus on issues described in the background section of this initiative, pilot project grants that address at least one or more of the following research topics are encouraged, as these topics apply to vulnerable populations globally.

  1. Equity and health (e.g., gender inequities in low and middle income countries)
  2. Gender and health in a global context - relevant issues include gender, globalization and health and gender perspectives on violence, food security, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, tobacco use, occupational health and safety, indigenous people, addictions, and mental health in a global context
  3. Governance and health (e.g. democratization)
  4. Civic engagement: effective participation and inclusion, citizenship and health
  5. Health implications of global climate change or environmental degradation
  6. Health of indigenous populations globally
  7. Infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, tuberculosis, malaria, water borne infections;
    • Development of microbicides;
      Application of ARV treatment in resource-poor settings (such as DOTS methods, diagnostics);
    • Effectiveness of harm reduction in reducing transmission of HIV and HEP C (e.g. quantitative evidence needed),
    • Boosting the capacity of developing nations to prevent and control other emerging infectious diseases
    • Enhancing the capacity of developing nations to track and control disease outbreaks resulting from bioterror attacks
    • The impact of public health on failed states
    • Global disease monitoring and surveillance
  8. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – for e.g. enhancing research capacity to track and contain SARS in endemic regions such as China and Asia.
  9. New global pandemics of chronic diseases such as heart disease and mood disorders
    • Circulatory and Respiratory Diseases: research strategies that address the genetic, environmental (social, psychological, cultural, economic), and other factors associated with the risk of these diseases. Strategies may focus on identification, assessment, prevention, and integrated approaches to the control of risk factors (i.e. hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus) associated with circulatory and respiratory conditions and their public health implications.
    • Obesity and healthy body weights for e.g. environmental changes that reinforce factors supporting healthy lifestyles and reducing barriers to a healthy diet and physical activity; developing the evidence base for environmental and policy approaches that will modify the environment in which individual choices are made.
  10. Mental health: the burden of mental illnesses, such as major depression, has been underestimated by traditional approaches that take into account deaths and not disability.
    • Major depression is the leading cause of disability expressed in years of life with disability in Canada and worldwide, and bipolar disorder ranks 6th, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study commissioned by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. Major depression alone accounts for more than one in every ten years of life lived with disability worldwide. The predominance of these conditions is by no means restricted to established market economies, although their burden is higher in these countries and disproportionately affects women.
  11. Improving health status and strengthening national health systems in an era of globalization
    • The politics and processes of service delivery for health;
    • Access to essential medicines and health services for vulnerable populations and the effects on health and social equity;
    • Effects of globalization, foreign aid restructuring and national debts on health and health services internationally; and,
    • The interface of gender, globalization and health (e.g., issues of food security, occupational health and safety, mental health, infectious disease, HIV/AIDS, tobacco)
  12. Tobacco control, nicotine addiction and tobacco abuse
    • Health impacts of tobacco use by Indigenous people
    • The health and social implications of tobacco use (including sex differences and gender influences)
    • The economics of tobacco control
    • Legislative and policy analysis concerning tobacco control, and their impacts on health
    • Alternative crops and livelihoods
    • Nicotine addiction and tobacco abuse were identified as one of INMHA’s four broad initiatives. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death accounting for approximately one in six deaths in Canada. Smoking is increasing worldwide and according to the Global Burden of Disease Study the burden of disease attributable to tobacco is expected to outweigh that caused by any single disease by 2020. This is a global health emergency. In the context of its Tobacco Free Initiative, the World Health Organization is working on a Framework Convention on Tobacco control. Nicotine addiction is a major factor contributing to tobacco abuse.
  13. Other global health problems, as substantiated by evidence from low or middle-income partner institution(s)/co-investigators that these are locally and globally important.

Total Funds Available

The total funds available for all the programs offered under this initiative over the one-year period will likely be in the range of $ 2.0 Million.

Research Programs

Pilot Project Grants

Pilot Project Grants are intended to build research capacity by supporting innovative high risk, pilot or feasibility research on ecological, technological, economic, political and socio-cultural forces that influence health, and/or major health and health systems problems that affect low, middle income and rich countries. Grants will allow investigators in Canada in full partnership with researchers resident in low and middle-income countries (including researchers representing the needs of vulnerable populations in rich countries), to explore novel ideas and observations and conduct pilot studies and/or gather evidence necessary to determine the viability of new global health research directions. It is anticipated that these grants will lead to subsequent proposals to the investigator-initiated grant competition and/or future Global Health Research Strategic Initiative funding opportunities for longer-term grants.

Funds: Up to $100,000 per grant, including equipment
Period of Funding: One year, non-renewable


Partners’ Research Focus –

CIHR will lead the competition with partner Institutes – the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, the Institute of Gender and Health, the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, the Institute of Infection and Immunity and the Institute of Population and Public Health (lead). The partners, CIDA, CIHR, Health Canada and IDRC, in accordance with the objectives of the GHRI framework agreement reserve the right to jointly and/or individually support the successful applications as these align to their specific priorities and mandates. In addition, projects that span more than one research area, are encouraged and if successful might be jointly funded by several partners.

Global Health Research Initiative Partners

Canadian International Development Agency

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has as its mandate to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable human development in developing countries. The recent policy statement on Strengthening Aid Effectiveness allows CIDA to support programs that will assist developing countries to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for 2015. CIDA's Strategy for Health and its Social Development Priorities: A Framework for Action, the resulting HIV/AIDS and Health and Nutrition Action Plans, all recognize the importance of evidence-based programming and the need for further research to continuously improve the impact and cost-effectiveness of Canadian Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Health Canada

Health Canada has as its mandate to help the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Health Canada recognizes the importance of health issues in a global environment and works actively to ensure that Canada and the Canadian public are protected from external health threats, benefit from and contribute to the advancement of health in the global context. Health Canada represents Canada in the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization and other international health fora.

International Development Research Centre

In 1970, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) was created by an Act of Parliament, with the mandate of supporting the creation and utilization of research for development. IDRC's primary mission is to support research by Southern researchers (i.e. researchers resident in low and middle-income countries), addressing development priorities identified by the South. The ultimate beneficiaries of the research supported by IDRC should be communities in the countries of the South, particularly marginalized or disadvantaged groups. IDRC feels that Canadians have much to offer in building research capacity in the South, as well as in directly addressing critical health issues affecting the populations of the developing world. IDRC therefore strongly supports efforts to promote Canadian "global health thinking" leading to global health research and action to close the 10-90 gap.

An exploratory and complementary component of this RFA, administered through IDRC, will explore the feasibility and effectiveness of directly funding low- and middle-income country-based research programs through the Global Health Research Initiative.

CIHR - Institute Lead

Institute of Population and Public Health

The mission of the Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH) is to support research into the complex interactions (biological, social, cultural, environmental), which determine the health of individuals, communities, and global populations; and, the application of that knowledge to improve the health of both populations and individuals, through strategic partnerships with population and public health stakeholders, and innovative research funding programs. Based on the results of a national consultation tour and guidance from its Advisory Board, IPPH has identified five priorities in its strategic plan for 2002-07. This RFA directly addresses IPPH’s strategic priority “to improve Canada’s ability to investigate and intervene on those underlying forces that challenge global health”, by strengthening the capacity of researchers and research-users to collaboratively develop and apply global health knowledge for evidence-based practice. The IPPH is committing up to $1.0 Million to relevant successful applications.

Participating Institutes

Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health

The Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health aims to lead an advanced research agenda in the area of Aboriginal health, and to promote innovative research in this field that improves the health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. The CIHR-IAPH will play a lead role in building research capacity in the First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities, and will support partnerships and alliances between aboriginal communities and non-aboriginal health research organizations/institutes at the local, regional national and international levels. CIHR-IAPH will support health research that respects aboriginal cultures, while generating new knowledge to improve the health and well-being of aboriginal people.

The IAPH aspires to balance indigenous knowledge, values and community priorities, with international scientific research excellence. Research is encouraged into the health issues of indigenous populations in poor to middle-income countries. In addition, issues related to minority indigenous populations in post-colonial developed countries is also encouraged, therefore applicants that address one the following foci are also of interest to the IAPH. Applicants that address one of the following foci are of interest to the IAPH. These include:

  • Circumpolar Indigenous Health: (Note that International indigenous health research are underway with national efforts organized by the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health (a member of the International Union of Circumpolar Health) with member nations including - Alaska/USA, Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia).
  • Canada/Australia/New Zealand Indigenous Health: (Note that there is an International cooperation agreement for indigenous health research that will foster a "Cooperation Agreement between Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) and the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC))
  • Canada/Mexico Indigenous Health: (Mexico-Canadian Collaboration Agreement in Health Research

Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health


The mandate and research priorities of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH) are to support research into causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions associated with the heart, lung, brain (stroke), blood and blood vessels, critical care and sleep. This RFA addresses the ICRH research priorities of: novel and integrative approaches to the assessment, care and management of patients with circulatory and respiratory diseases; obesity-associated vascular and respiratory conditions; and, interaction of genes and environment in determining susceptibility to circulatory and respiratory disorders.

Institute of Gender and Health

The mandate of the Institute of Gender and Health is to support research that addresses how sex (biological-genetic dimensions) and gender (social-cultural dimensions of gender identity), interact with other socio-cultural, bio-physical, and political-economic factors to influence health, and create conditions that differ with respect to risk factors or effective interventions for males and females throughout the lifespan. The objectives of the Institute for Gender and Health are to (1) generate evidence regarding the impact of sex and gender on health status, health behaviour, and health services use throughout the life span; (2) to enhance understanding of how gender and sex interact with other health determinants; (3) to provide evidence to inform the design of programs, policies and practices; (4) to build the capacity of gender and health researchers in Canada; and (5) to advance the gender and health perspective nationally and internationally. This RFA addresses two IGH research priorities: (1) access and equity for vulnerable populations (e.g., access to health services, equity and health, violence, gender and health); and, (2) gender and the environment. The IGH encourages applications that address priority issues that emerged through international consultation engaging researchers and policy influencers from rich, low and middle income countries, through the IGH initiative “Gender and Health in the Global Context”. These issues include gender perspectives on globalization, food security, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, tobacco use, occupational health and safety, and mental health. The IGH is committing up to $400,000 to relevant successful applications.

Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR)

IHSPR is dedicated to supporting innovative research, capacity-building and knowledge translation initiatives designed to improve the way health care services are organized, regulated, managed, financed, paid for, used and delivered, in the interest of improving the health and quality of life of all Canadians.

IHSPR seeks to fund initiatives where there is significant potential to translate the knowledge gained from research into improved health services, systems or policy. More specifically, the Institute will give funding priority to support initiatives designed to address emerging uneasiness about how to protect the domestic health care policy environment in a world of highly influential global industries (e.g., pharmaceutical and device multinationals) and, more generally free-trade agreements. Globalization is one of 15 themes identified in "Listening for Direction: A national consultation on health services and policy issues".

Institute of Infection and Immunity (III)

The Institute of Infection and Immunity supports research to enhance immune-mediated health, and to reduce the burden of infectious disease, immune-mediated disease, and allergy through prevention strategies, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation. Infectious diseases not only cause death and suffering, they hinder economic and social development particularly in developing and middle income countries. They sap the human spirit and the natural motivation to improve the human condition. Diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, malaria and water borne infections are of major concern. The relationship between treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and social and economic development need to be explored. Changing the social and sexual behavior and the supply of drugs for HIV prevention are critical research issue for public policy change. In the case of tuberculosis, the development of microbial resistance to TB is an area that needs to be addressed. For research to be really effective, researchers need to be anchored both in the country where disease is endemic and in a country where health research is well advanced. Cooperation between health research professionals with appreciation of cultural and social issues is essential to achieving goals in this area. There are exceedingly few individuals from countries with a high incidence of these diseases who are both highly and appropriately trained and who attempt to contribute directly to solving their country’s health problems. Thus, research program development and planning to build research capacity in infectious diseases in Canada and in developing and middle income countries need to be addressed.

Contact for Further Information

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at one of the numbers below.

For questions regarding the review process, application forms and submission requirements, please contact:

Robert Courchaine
Program Officer
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
410 Laurier Avenue W; 9th floor
Address Locator 4209A
Ottawa, ON K1A 0W9
Telephone: (613) 957-8641
E-mail: rcourchaine@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For general questions about the strategic initiative Global Health Research Pilot Project Grants, please contact:

Alita Perry
Manager, Global Health Research Initiative
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
410 Laurier Ave West, 9th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0W9
Tel: (613) 222-0089
Fax: (613) 941-0568
E-mail: aperry@cihr-gc.ca

OR

Erica Di Ruggiero
Assistant Director,
Canadian Institutes of Health Research -
Institute of Population and Public Health
Suite 207-L, Banting Building
100 College Street
Toronto, ON M5G 1L5
416 946-7987 (telephone)
416 946-7984 (fax)
E-mail: e.diruggiero@utoronto.ca

1 : Labonté, R. et Spiegel, J. (2001) Setting Global Health Priorities for Funding Canadian Researchers: A Discussion Paper. (Prepared for the Institute on Population and Public Health)