Global Forum Releases New Report

The first report published by the Global Forum for Health Research on an annual meeting, "Health Research for the Millennium Development Goals", summarizes the main themes of Forum 8 from plenary presentations and includes a CD-ROM with all the presentations, media and final documentation of the meeting. The Global Forum for Health Research is an independent international foundation based in Geneva.Forum 8, which was held in conjunction with the Ministerial Summit on Health Research, brought together over 900 participants from 450 institutions in 109 countries. Participants represented governments, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, international and national foundations and NGOs, women's organizations, research institutions and universities, the private sector and the media. The two meetings shared a number of elements, including joint plenary sessions each day. Several messages are highlighted in the report, including the need for more political commitment, a wide interpretation of the health agenda underlying the specific MDG targets -- effectively an "MDG-plus" approach that recognizes the importance of building strong health systems and addressing all the major health problems of the population, including noncommunicable diseases and injuries, mental and neurological health, sexual and reproductive health, and the health needs of groups such as adolescents and the aged. The report also emphasizes more application of existing knowledge -- which itself generates a research agenda into how best to adapt and implement what is already known to work. It stresses the need for more health research of all kinds to create new knowledge, tools andtechnologies, and to learn how to translate these into effective interventions that are targeted to, and reach, even the poorest and most marginalized sections of the population.See full report here.