A gathering of the health and research industry’s greatest
minds. A treasure trove of information. A feast of intellectual delights geared
for the health and research industries. This is the goal for the Global Forum
on Research and Innovation for Health 2015, organized by the Council on Health
Research for Development (COHRED), in partnership with the Philippine
Department of Health and Department of Science and Technology. This summit,
also known as “Forum 2015,” spans August 24th to August 27th,
2015. It aims to address how research and healthcare should work together, in a drive to “Engage to Change.”
The
summit spans 70 sessions, split into
two tracks, with the following six themes:
Track 1: Increasing the Effectiveness of Research and
Innovation for Health (through):
- Social Accountability
- Increasing investments
- Country-driven capacity building
Track 2: The role of research and innovation (in
improving):
- Food safety and security
- Health in mega-cities
- Disaster risk reduction
With the many health crises that have beset the nations,
from the many new viruses that are sprouting, as well as the weather-related crises
that arise due to climate change, this forum was timely, and as the organizers state,
“No longer a mostly research-focused meeting, the new Forum is aiming for
solutions, involves all stakeholders in the value chain from problem to
solution, and goes beyond 'health research' towards 'research and innovation
for health'.”
Aside from being a place where health professionals and
research experts could meet and exchange ideas, this is also the summit for
both government officials and policy makers to understand how to return to
their calling as the pillars of change in a nation. Tomorrow’s schedule,
“Translating research into policy,” addresses this need.
Another equally crucial need, “Translating research into
innovation,” addresses the health and research professionals’ vision for their
work. How to turn their research into drivers of change.
In a season when so much is changing, and yet so little
progress has been made, it is high time to address a system that seems to be
stuck in time. After Yolanda/Haiyan, it is timely and relevant that COHRED
decided to hold Forum 2015 in the nation that Yolanda struck. The jaded may
believe otherwise, but forums and summits like these help us to believe that
there is hope yet, and that change is on the horizon.
Forum 2015 is held at the Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC), Pasay City, Philippines.
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Photo Credits: forum2015.org
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