Publication Date
This statement from the Council on Health Research for Development considers the responsibility of research programmes carried out in low to middle income countries to build the capacity of a country’s researchers and the national research system, in the process of achieving its own research goals. It sets out 4 problems that need to be addressed: health research needed by developing countries is mostly conducted for them, sometimes with them, but rarely by them; health research in developing countries is problem-specific - or ‘vertical’ and does not usually contribute to building the national system for health research; the questions addressed by health research in developing countries are largely determined by the international community - specifically those funding ‘global health research’; and health research is not seen as a key driver of development in low income countries - which constitutes a missed opportunity towards real and sustainable progress. Also included are a set of practical steps that can be taken to make vertical research programmes more responsible