[afro-nets] Grand Challenges in Global Health: ethical, social, and cultural (ESC) issues

["Claudio Schuftan" <cschuftan@phmovement.org>]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) ruglucia@paho.org
 EQUIDAD@listserv.paho.org

Grand Challenges in Global Health:

"….This week PLoS Medicine publishes four policy papers from theGrand Challenges in Global Health initiative, a partnership dedicated to supporting scientific and technical research to solve critical health problems in the developing world. The papers explore the ethical, social, and cultural issues that the initiative faces; the concerns of key informants from the developing world; the effectiveness of community engagement in developing countries; and engaging civil society organizations in biomedical research…."

The Ethical, Social and Cultural Program

Peter A. Singer, Andrew D. Taylor, Abdallah S. Daar, Ross E. G. Upshur, Jerome A. Singh, James V. Lavery 
PloS Med 4(9): e265. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040265 - September 2007-Volume 4 - Issue 9 -  e265

PDF at:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/4/9/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0040265-L.pdf

"….The Grand Challenges in Global Health (GCGH) initiative is a major effort to achieve scientific breakthroughs against diseases that kill millions of people each year in the world's poorest countries. With 44 projects, more than US$450 million in funding, and scientists from 33 countries, it has the potential to greatly reduce the suffering and death that disproportionately affect the 2 billion poorest people on earth. The 14 Grand Challenges serve seven long-term goals in global health [1],

Such a significant investment in scientific research must be accompanied by a program addressing the ethical, social, and cultural (ESC) issues that may arise—either in the development and implementation of the research projects themselves, or in the subsequent appropriate use of resultant knowledge and technologies by communities in need…"

Grand Challenges in Global Health:
Ethical, Social, and Cultural Issues Based on Key Informant Perspectives

Kathryn Berndtson, Tina Daid, C. Shawn Tracy, Anant Bhan, Emma R. M. Cohen, Ross E. G. Upshur, Jerome A. Singh, Abdallah S. Daar, James V. Lavery, Peter A. Singer

PLoS Med 4(9): e268.doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040268

PDF [6p.] at:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/4/9/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0040268-L.pdf

To identify key ESC issues, we conducted group discussions with investigators and program officers from the GCGH projects, as well as interviews with developing world experts.

This compilation of views from investigators and developing world experts is the first description of ESC issues for the GCGH initiative. To our knowledge, it is also the fi rst analysis of ESC issues related to a large-scale science program in the developing world. In this article we outline the ESC issues identifi ed by these key informants. …."

Grand Challenges in Global Health: Community Engagement in Research in Developing Countries

Paulina O. Tindana, Jerome A. Singh, C. Shawn Tracy, Ross E. G. Upshur, Abdallah S. Daar, Peter A. Singer, Janet Frohlich, James V. Lavery

PLoS Med 4(9): e273. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040273

 Available online PDF [5p.] at:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/4/9/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0040273-L.pdf

 The investigators and key informants placed particular emphasis upon the importance of community engagement, and therefore we prepared a conceptual paper on this topic, which we distributed as a working paper to GCGH investigators and program staff at the 2nd Annual GCGH Meeting. In this article, we summarize this conceptual paper. We first examine the concept of CE in research in developing countries, then we describe published models of CE, and finally we discuss two relevant examples of CE…."

Grand Challenges in Global Health: Engaging Civil Society Organizations in Biomedical Research in Developing Countries

Anant Bhan, Jerome A. Singh, Ross E. G. Upshur, Peter A. Singer, Abdallah S. Daar

PLoS Med 4(9):e272. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040272

Available online PDF [4p.] at:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/4/9/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0040272-L.pdf

 The full benefit of working with CSOs in biomedical research in the developing world is largely untapped, and it needs to be better understood. Where appropriate, researchers working in the developing world, including the GCGH investigators, should take advantage of working with CSOs. Engaging with CSOs has several benefits for researchers, especially in approaching and working with communities, and for post-research adoption of innovative findings and products. CSOs could play a key role in fostering understanding of how communities currently access technology and how they could do so in the future

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Claudio Schuftan
mailto:cschuftan@phmovement.org