High-quality research is crucial for effective health policies and programs in all countries, but research capacity is not equally available across the world.
“We need to invest in young researchers, women researchers and the ability of the mid-level researcher to develop and apply their skills,” explained Malabika Sarker, Chair of the Advisory Board of the HRP Alliance. “If we really want to improve search capability, it can’t just be top-down.”
Here are four reasons why strengthening research capacity – known as RCS – is crucial for a world where all people achieve the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR):
1) RCS strengthens research communities for national, regional and global leadership
Strong researchers, institutions and infrastructure are essential to generate data that accurately reflects populations and promotes gender equality and human rights.
Since 2017, the HRP Alliance has collaborated with national and international research institutions in low- and middle-income countries to help build and connect a sustainable base of new researchers with SRHR expertise. This allows researchers to focus and publish on specific national and regional needs and interests. It also creates a community that can support junior researchers on the long career path ahead.
More than 2,200 individuals from 69 countries have been supported by the HRP Alliance through short courses, as well as doctoral and master’s degrees. Two recent doctoral graduates were involved in large HRP studies of the UN Special Research Program in maternal health and family planning.
“As a WHO-HRP Fellow, my journey has not been a solo effort,” said Charles M’poca, presenting his research on maternal mortality and SARS-CoV-2 at the HRP Alliance Global Meeting in September. Charles, who completed his master’s with the support of the HRP Alliance, has now started his PhD at the University of Campinas, Brazil through CEMICAMP.
2) RCS creates an enabling environment for researchers
At the heart of the HRP Alliance are the regional research capacity building centers – academic institutions selected to lead and strengthen SRHR research capacity in their regions. There are currently 7 HRP Alliance hubs: Campinas, Brazil; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Accra, Ghana; Nairobi, Kenya; Karachi, Pakistan; Khon Kaen, Thailand; and Hanoi, Vietnam.
The HRP Alliance connects researchers and institutions at these centers to WHO offices, WHO Collaborating Centers and other special WHO programs and partnerships, as well as ongoing research projects coordinated by the HRP.
In addition to creating research opportunities, HRP Alliance hubs are strategic responses to power dynamics in global health. Power imbalances can create barriers to participation as equals, especially for some researchers in low- and middle-income countries, and contribute to limited ownership of global health research that directly concerns their communities.
The HRP Alliance also promotes fair authorship of scientific articles, encourages research groups to include women in leadership positions, and provides structured mentoring for early-stage researchers.
“My mentor recognized my zeal for research at a time when I really needed a program like this, helping me to prioritize,” explained Princess Acheampong, a postdoctoral fellow in Ghana, part of the first cohort of the HRP Alliance mentor program . “I also connected with other mentees in the program and we are now developing a grant proposal using cell phones to improve uptake of maternal health services in Ghana, Nepal and Pakistan.”
3) RCS facilitates rapid response to health emergencies
Outbreaks and health emergencies create the need to act quickly. They are also a reminder that high-quality evidence is critical to shaping real-time public health responses.
To date, the HRP Alliance has funded 23 of these projects in collaboration with WHO partners, including joint calls for community research on health emergencies during the Zika virus outbreak (in 2016) and the mass migration crisis in the Americas (in 2019). ).
These collaborations allowed the emergence of new evidence from Brazil, Colombia and Peru that strengthened knowledge about the relationship between infectious diseases of poverty and sexual and reproductive health and rights. This is relevant both in the context of Zika and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The HRP Alliance has also helped to shed research light on migrants and refugees, whose sexual and reproductive health and rights are often restricted – if not outright disregarded. The latest call for proposals is supporting 11 research groups in Latin America to conduct high-quality, context-specific research based on local and regional priorities, with an emphasis on integrating gender equality and human rights considerations, as well as strengthening search capability.
The HRP Alliance centers have also proven essential to the COVID-19 research response, collaborating closely with the WHO. Through rapid and effective networking with HRP Alliance partners early in the pandemic, COVID-19 research networks were quickly established. The centers are leading WHO and HRP research related to the impact of the pandemic on health systems, pregnancy and COVID-19 risks, and women’s experiences with contraceptives and abortion during the pandemic.
4) RCS strengthens the shared goals of all involved
Effectively strengthening research capacity is not a philanthropic side project: it is a fundamental part of sustainable SRHR research ecosystems and improving SRHR for all.
Since the launch of the new strategy in 2016, researchers supported by the HRP Alliance have made significant contributions to the implementation of WHO/HRP Studies in various countries, building the evidence base on critical sexual and reproductive health and rights issues. The HRP Alliance has also shown that opportunities to participate in larger research studies can strengthen individual research capacity.
“Sexual and reproductive health and rights are a key component of universal health coverage, but efforts to strengthen research capacity to generate evidence to guide the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services are particularly lacking.” said Anna Thorson, Head of Unit, Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, WHO/HRP.
“HRP Alliance has a critical role to play in building networks, supporting, listening and learning from each other’s work, and strengthening collaborations that will improve SRHR for all.”
