Memorandum of Understanding In Support of Better Health for the Poor - A Canadian Collaboration for Global Health

Between

The Canadian International Development Agency
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Health Canada
The International Development Research Centre

Background and Purpose

Millions of children and women die or suffer needlessly every year in developing countries from largely preventable causes. While much progress has been made in developing and implementing cost-effective strategies, relatively modest investments in research on the health problems of developing countries and on global health priorities could go a long way towards getting both better health outcomes and lower program cost. Investing in these global public goods could have the double advantage of improving the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of official development assistance (ODA; improved sustainable health gains per dollar of Canadian ODA invested) and contribute to the protection of the health of citizens of all countries, including Canadians. Diseases know no borders. Health events and issues in other countries increasingly impact on the health of Canadians and the Canadian health system.

Canada is at the forefront of health research, with strong academic institutions, research centres and industry. The recent transformation of the Medical Research Council into the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is testimony to Canada's leadership in this area.

In this increasingly globalized world, it is therefore appropriate to enter into a Canadian Collaboration for Global Health with a view to bringing about enhanced Canadian efforts with regard to the health problems of developing countries, on global health priorities and on health issues which may be external to Canada but may impact on the health of Canadians. By setting up the framework arrangement through this Memorandum of Understanding, this Collaboration will greatly facilitate the co-funding of research endeavors by the four initial partners.

The Four Initial Partners

The Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA) has as its mandate to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable human development in developing countries. Its Strategy for Health and its recently released Social Development Priorities: A Framework for Action, the resulting HIV/AIDS Action Plan and upcoming Health and Nutrition Action Plan, all recognize the importance of evidence-based programming and the need for further research to continuously improve the impact and cost-effectiveness of Canadian ODA to improve the health of the world's poor. Canada's official development assistance contributes to reaching the International Development Targets for 2015 and more specifically the health goals set during the international conferences and summits of the 1990's.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. As set out by Parliament, the objective of CIHR is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system. The Institutes of CIHR bring together researchers who approach health challenges from different disciplinary perspectives, drawing on the combined strengths of these approaches. The four pillars of CIHR include biomedical, clinical science, health systems and services, and the social, cultural and other factors that affect the health of populations.

Health Canada has as its mandate to help the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Health Canada recognizes the importance of health issues in a global environment and works actively to ensure that Canada and the Canadian public are protected from external health threats, benefit from and contribute to the advancement of health in the global context. Health Canada represents Canada in the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization and other international health fora.

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) was created by an Act of Parliament in 1970 with the mandate of supporting the creation and utilization of research for development. IDRC's primary mission is to support research by Southern researchers, addressing development priorities identified by the South. The ultimate beneficiaries of the research supported by IDRC should be communities in the countries of the South, particularly marginalized or disadvantaged groups. IDRC feels that Canadians have much to offer in building research capacity in the South, as well as in directly addressing critical health issues affecting the populations of the developing world. IDRC, therefore, strongly supports efforts to promote Canadian "global health thinking" leading to global health research and action to close the 10-90 gap.

Together, these four agencies, funded by the Government of Canada, can bring considerable expertise to bear on health problems in developing countries and global health priorities: Health Canada with its considerable knowledge base and recognized leadership, IDRC with its experience with research in developing country settings, CIHR, with its strong tradition of excellence in research through the peer-review process, and CIDA, with its considerable development experience and its emphasis on evidence-based health development.

At a later stage, one could envisage that other partners, such as (but not limited to) industry, professional associations, and non-governmental agencies could join this partnership. Each addition will be carefully scrutinized to ensure added value and to avoid unnecessary complexities.

Framework Arrangement

Through this MOU, the four parties agree to collaborate in international health research. The necessary contractual and legal arrangements between some or all parties of this MOU will be specific to the research projects and programs carried out in partnership and contained in the relevant project / program documents.

The parties will endeavor to identify mechanisms of collaboration. These mechanisms will include at least the following:

• Parallel funding of different components of joint research programs (for example: complementary AIDS vaccine trials carried out both in Canada and in developing countries)

• Joint review of projects and programs through participation in relevant approval committees

• Co-funding of international health research projects and programs (for example, global health systems work, of relevance to improve the performance of both the Canadian health system and those of developing countries; adapting promising findings with respect to HIV/AIDS interventions in Canada to developing country settings)

A Partnership Steering Committee will be struck with one or more individual(s) from each partner organization. It will meet periodically - at least yearly - to review progress and will report to the Head of each of the parties of this MOU. Reports will include projects / programs funded jointly or in parallel, results achieved and potential development impact.

This MOU will come into force upon signature by all parties. The relevance and merit of this arrangement will be reviewed every three years.

Signed November 19, 2001