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Creation
The Council on Health Research for Development (known as COHRED) is an international non-governmental organization created in 1993, as a result of the work of the Commission on Health Research for Development and the recommendation of the Task Force on Health Research for Development, which implemented the work of the Commission.

COHRED took over where the Task Force left off. Its primary responsibility became, firstly, advocacy for Essential National Health Research (ENHR) (REF) and, secondly, supporting the strengthening of research capacity in low and middle income countries. During the intial period, COHRED was instrumental in promoting research priority setting in low and middle income countries. It brought the message of ENHR to low and middle income countries (LMICs) worldwide. Today, COHRED has evolved today to support national research capacity and systems for research for health in low and middle income countries. (REFs)

COHRED was established in the administrative environment of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) rather than in the World Health Organization (WHO). This emphasizes a principal characteristic of the organisation – the key underlying value is global social justice – COHRED’s focus is health, equity and development – and the way to get there concentrates on supporting low and middle income countries to build strong research capacity and systems. Without this, sustainable health and development will not be possible.

Governance
The organization was founded in 1993 as an international non-governmental organization, in Geneva, Switzerland, under Swiss law. It is governed by a Board, consisting of a mandatory representation of 2/3 of health research leaders and stakeholders from low and middle income countries.

Current Board members:
Dr Cheikh Seydil Moctar Mbacké - Consultant, SENEGAL; COHRED Board Chair Prof. Abbas Bhuiya - Head, Poverty and Health Programme and Social, Behavioural Sciences Unit International Diarrhoeal Disease Research Centre, BANGLADESH Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford - President, New York Academy of Medicine USA Dr. Debora Diniz - ANIS Institute of Bioethics, Human Rights and Gender, Professor of Public Health and Bioethics. BRAZIL Dr. Don De Savigny - Head of Unit, Clinical Intervention & Epidemiology;Public Health & Epidemiology Swiss Tropical Institute, Switzerland Dr. Sambe Duale - Technical Director and Infectious Disease Advisor, Africa’s Health in 2010, D.R. CONGO/USA Prof. Carel IJsselmuiden - Director of COHRED, SOUTH AFRICA/NETHERLANDS, Ex-officio member Dr. Suzanne Jacob Serruya - Pan American Health Organization/WHO, Uruguay, BRAZIL; Mr. Olvier Praz - Programme Manager, Multilateral Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SWITZERLAND Dr. Pascoal Mocumbi - Former Primer Minister, Mozambique High Representative EDCTP – European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, Netherlands. MOZAMBIQUE Dr. Donald Simeon - Director Caribbean Health Research Council TRINIDAD and TOBAGO Dr. Aissatou Toure Balde - Head, Laboratory of Parasite Immunology Institut Pasteur Dakar SENEGAL.

Past Board members:
(TO BE COMPILED)

Organisation
Managing COHRED’s strategy and implementation is the responsibility of its Directorate, based in Geneva. By design, COHRED is becoming a ‘southern alliance with key northern partners’ and now has half of its project staff located in Africa, Latin America, and in the recent past Central Asia. The current COHRED Director is Prof. Carel IJsselmuiden. Previous director’s were ???? COHRED staff comprises professionals in public health, biology, information technology, knowledge management, and health research.

Donors, contributors, clients and partners of COHRED include: •	list actual agencies here with URLs •	Switzerland, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the EDCTP.

2010	Pharma Innovation
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2009	HRWeb 2.0
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2008 - Bamako Ministerial Forum
Bamako 2008 Global Minsterial Forum on Research for Health. COHRED was a co-organiser of the meeting, with the Government of Mali, UNESCO, the World Bank, World Health Organization and Global Forum for Health Research. An important contribution by COHRED was to strongly reinforce the contributions that Civil Society can provide towards Research for Health with the launch of a Call to Action for Civil Society (URL) which was complementary to the Bamako Declaration (URL)

2007 - Paris Declaration
COHRED's 'AHA' study on alignment and harmonization was the first to look at the application of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in the domain of health research. The reports provide clear guidelines on how to improvie the alignment of donor programmes with country needs in health research. (URL)

2007 - Responsible Vertical Programming (RVP)
This concept was developed by COHRED in 2005 and framed in a study in 2007. RVP provides the rationale why health research focused on diseases and outcomes on – i.e. ‘vertical’ research programs – may damage national research capacity through fragmentation and by pulling scarce research expertise to externally funded research only. Good practice in research should, instead, focus on maximizing the lasting impact of externally funded research on in-country research capacity and ability to manage it. RVP holds that this can be done without detracting from the primary research goals. (URL)

2006 – NHRS Development Framework
Building on previous work of WHO, COHRED and others (REFs … WHO Bull, Meeting report), COHRED synthesized all information into a logical framework for research systems development in countries. (URL to worksheet)

2004 – Health research system development
COHRED extends its scope from advocacy for Essential National Health Research to become enabling organization, specialized in health research system development. It supports countries to use health research to improve health, health equity, and development.

2004 - Mexico Conference
COHRED was a partner in organizing this Ministerial meeting, which put health systems research on the global health agenda.

2000 - Bangkok Conference
International Conference on Health Research for Development COHRED contribution: Facilitate extensive country consultations to assess national needs for health research. Review health research over the past decade, draw lessons for the future Agree on a framework for improved international cooperation in health research in support of country health research systems.

1993 - COHRED Established
International Conference on Health Research for Development, Geneva COHRED was established to promote Essential National Health Research (ENHR) as a comprehensive strategy for organizing and managing national health research.

1992 International Conference on Health Research for Development (Uganda) Assessed progress made with the implementation of the ENHR strategy Identified possible mechanisms for international support for ENHR

1990-1993 - Task Force on Health Research for Development
Mandate: to consider how to implement the Commission’s recommendations: Further developed concept of ENHR Defined 7 elements for implementing the ENHR strategy Facilitated the implementation of ENHR in some 15 countries (Needs full sentences; and URL to Task Force Report)

1990 - Commission Report
Health Research: Essential Link to Equity in Development The Commission's Report was launched at the Nobel Conference on Health Research for Development (Karolinska Institute, Sweden, 1990) The report highlighted the mismatch between burden of disease and investment in health research. It proposed four recommendations: 1) Implementation of Essential National Health Research (ENHR) by all countries 2) Creation of international partnerships in health research 3) Mobilizing increased funding for health research 4) Establish a forum for review and advocacy

1987-1990 - Commission
Commission on Health Research for Development Mandate: to survey health research worldwide, identify strengths and weaknesses, and propose improvements.

COHRED Today
Strategy This description is an excerpt from the current COHRED strategy document ''“Statement of purpose: COHRED is about building research, science & technology, and innovation systems of countries.

Success means – primarily – improved health and equity, but we also expect to see improvements in general socio-economic development [as major determinant of improved health and equity].

We prioritise low and middle income countries and populations.”''

Strategic objectives
1. To support countries in building and using their national research systems in ways that enable the sustainable achievement of optimal health, equity and socio-economic development through research, science & technology and innovation. This is the concept of Strengthening of systems for research for health (REF)..

2. To encourage and support all external parties engaged in research for health globally to maximize the positive impact of their efforts on the national research system development in low and middle income countries in which they work. This is the concept of Responsible Vertical Programming (REF).

Current approach and activities
COHRED has developed into the only independent international agency active in capacity strengthening and technical support for research for health in low and middle income countries. This includes supporting countries to design and put in place policies, priorities, governance structures and institutional mechanisms to better manage research – for improved health, health equity and development.

COHRED provides technical support to countries and international health programmes. It develops tools, processes, approaches and services that enable countries and institutions to develop their research systems. COHRED says that its approach is different from other national, regional and multilateral organizations working in research for health. It engages at country level with all relevant actors concerned with research for health, including: research institutions and councils, ministries, civil society and the media.

COHRED supports national research in several ways:
 * Providing support, technical expertise and tools to countries to help them strengthen their health research systems.

• Facilitating learning and the sharing of experience between countries. And making this learning broadly available to others as global public goods.

• Doing research together with countries to improve the understanding of specific aspects of health research system strengthening.

• Partnering with global health initiatives, development agencies and other international bodies to continually bring a focus no country needs.

• Calling for action, based on evidence, on how international players in research for health can better support country needs. Partners COHRED has developed into a ‘southern alliance with key northern partners’. Current work is in progress with institutional partners in Mexico, Tunisia, Philippines, Uganda and South Africa. COHRED engages at the request of governments, institutions, civil society or other stakeholders. Strategic partners include the regional offices of the WHO in the Western Pacific (WPRO), Middle East (EMRO), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), the Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC), the Institute of Public Health (Mexico), the University of the Philippines, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa).

Key initiatives and activities 2010-2015
Research for Health-Africa. An initiative with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Agency) on strengthening governance and management of research for health in Africa. •	Health Research Web. The country perspective on health research – an interactive platform for health research management, governance and learning. http://www.healthresearchweb.org •	Strengthening Pharmaceutical Innovation in Africa. An initiative with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Agency) – supporting countries to develop strategies and capacity for medicines access and innovation, including local production. http://www.cohred.org/African_Innovation •	Framework, tools and services for strengthening national health research systems and improving health research management and performance. http://www.cohred.org/tools-approaches •	MARC – Mapping of Research ethics capacity. http://www.healthresearchweb.org/common/hrweb.php?lg=en&title=ethics •	Responsible Vertical Programming. Encouraging global health and vertical research programmes to leave behind research skills and a stronger research system in the countries where they work. http://www.cohred.org/responsible-programming

The Story of COHRED
COHRED – the Council on Health Research for Development

This text is an excerpt from the current COHRED strategy

In 1990, a global group of concerned people showed that health and medical research was not really geared to improving and saving lives in low and middle income countries. They identified the ‘10/90 gap’ – indicating that far too little research was done on diseases that cause most of the world’s deaths. Hard-hit by disease and death, low income countries did not have nor attract sufficient people and funding for the research needed to solve their most pressing health problems.

To correct this gap between research needs and research done, a global effort was launched to make a difference : not just to get more funding or create larger partnerships for more global health research – but even more crucial is the drive to support low and middle income countries and their research institutions to develop their capacity to contribute towards closing the ‘10/90 gap’.

This is COHRED’s starting point. COHRED is about helping low and middle income countries and populations to achieve real, meaningful and lasting improvements in health, health equity and development.

Initially COHRED supported countries by the promotion of ENHR – ‘Essential National Health Research’ – the type of research that is needed to stretch scarce health dollars just a bit further to reach more people and save more lives. This was very important, but it is not all that research and innovation can do for low and middle income countries.

In fact, without the ability to identify health and other problems that require research, without the ability to commission – partner or conduct research, and without the means to translate the research into health action and impact, countries will remain dependent on others. More importantly – without science & technology and innovation capacity, low income countries are very unlikely to become modern, healthy and sustainable economies.

COHRED focuses on sustainable development through developing national research capacity and systems. We believe passionately that investing in research, science & technology and innovation are key to sustainable development. COHRED engages not just in ‘capacity building’ but supports countries in strengthening the governance, management, prioritization, financing and performance enhancement of their total research output – and to translate this into better health, health equity and socio-economic development.

To achieve this COHRED provides technical support; research & development of new insights, tools and approaches; web-based research management; and global advocacy. COHRED works in countries, but only at their request and in full partnership, where it provides technical support and countries provide political backing. COHRED believes that no research should be done in low and middle income countries that does not explicitly contribute to the capacity of these countries to take charge of their research agenda. National research systems need to be supported by all global research efforts – and COHRED assists in optimizing the interactions for system development.

All countries should have and use the full potential of research, science & technology and innovation to optimize health, eliminate health inequities, and support national development.