Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Global Governance Research in Infectious Diseases – Learn more about Canadian efforts
The CIHR’s Institute of Population and Public Health and the CIHR’s Institute of Infection and Immunity hosted a strengthening workshop at York University, Toronto, Canada, on February 26, 2019 on Global Governance Research in Infectious Diseases (GGRID).
Together, Canadian applicants to the GGRID Initiative and international experts discussed ways to build and sustain collaborations across the range of social sciences studying global governance in infectious diseases, including emerging threats.
These efforts are ultimately intended to support effective global governance systems related to infectious diseases and improve the response to future infectious threats on a global scale.
Ebola Rapid Research Fund to support four projects
Last May, CIHR’s Institute of Infection & Immunity (III) and Institute of Population & Public Health (IPPH) mobilized CIHR’s Emerging Health Threats Fund to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
CIHR partnered with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to quickly issue a call for proposals that was open to teams of Canadian and African researchers to conduct social sciences, humanities, public health and/or health systems research aimed at more effectively containing the Ebola outbreak as well as potential future outbreaks.
The four teams of researchers supported through this opportunity are undertaking work that will address many facets of emergency response research and we are pleased to share a summary of their project proposals with you.
The four projects are:
- Strengthening the ethics of clinical research for participants in Ebola-affected countries: this project aims to address the challenges of conducting research under emergency contexts and on populations with limited literacy and with low socio-economic status.
- Improving the response to Ebola crises with improved access to routine health information: this project will use existing data to assess the state of health system responses to outbreaks like Ebola before, during and after the outbreak in affected and non-affected areas.
- The Role of Social, Cultural and Environmental Factors in Improving Ebola Virus Disease Response and Resilience: this project aims to support locally-sensitive response strategies and community-based initiatives, complementing international efforts to contain viral transmission, limit the disease’s spread, and reduce the risk of future outbreaks.
- Ebola Virus Disease and Community Mental Health: this project will document the consequences of Ebola virus disease on the mental health of survivors, families and communities, develop a consensual and effective prevention kit, and craft a psychosocial response kit suited to the cultural realities of the Equateur province in the DRC.
Congratulations to the successful Canadian and African research teams and their partners whose work will inform efforts to contain the current Ebola outbreak in DRC and future outbreaks around the world.
