Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Health Reporter
ZIMBABWE has embarked on a process to develop a National Health Research Agenda that will ensure the country’s research efforts are aligned with its own health challenges, moving away from the donor-driven model that has long dictated priorities.
The country is holding a Health Research and Development Prioritisation workshop, which is bringing together experts, policymakers and stakeholders under the leadership of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to define priority areas in health research that directly respond to the needs of the Zimbabwean populations.
The initiative comes as Africa, which is home to 20 percent of the world’s population and carries 25 percent of the global disease burden, continues to grapple with research agendas that are largely donor-driven.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop in Harare yesterday, Mrs Farisai Kuonza, a technical officer in the research, development and clinical trials division at Africa CDC, said the initiative would allow Zimbabwe to focus on context-specific health needs in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
“Previously, a donor would come with their own specific interest, which might not necessarily be relevant to the Zimbabwean community,” she said.
“Now we are sitting with stakeholders and programme officers from different Ministry of Health departments, who know the diseases affecting Zimbabweans.
“We will look at levels of prevention, case management, morbidity and mortality, and from there develop a research agenda that truly reflects national priorities.”
Mrs Kuonza noted that the exercise would ensure that whenever research funding becomes available, Zimbabwe has a ready framework highlighting the diseases or health issues requiring urgent attention.
National Institute of Health Research director, Professor Nicholas Midzi, said Zimbabwe already has a strong base of research conducted through universities and independent institutions.
However, most of it has been driven by external funders whose interests do not always match local needs.
“When we conduct research, we are coming up with results that inform policymakers in coming up with policies and guidelines for the treatment of diseases or control and elimination of diseases,” he said.
“Having research conducted in the country is critical to come up with new ideas, new solutions to health problems, new treatments, new drugs, new approaches for the control of endemic diseases or diseases that affect our continent and our people.”
By using the Africa CDC health research prioritisation framework, AU member States are expected to identify gaps in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and determinants of diseases while developing research questions that will help generate evidence-based solutions.
Prof Midzi said the programme by the Africa CDC is coming at a time the Government is at an advanced stage of preparing for the large-scale National Health Prioritisation process and production of a national health research agenda.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has already received over 680 research questions from across the country as part of the national prioritisation process.
These would complement the priorities to be identified during this week’s programme.
Added Prof Midzi: “The Africa CDC has provided a unique opportunity for the nominated experts to thoroughly interrogate your thematic areas and identify high level areas per disease or health concern that have major knowledge gaps to be addressed through research and development.”
He said the priorities to be identified would ultimately be incorporated into the regional health priorities, which are indispensable in defining the African continental health research agenda.
