Q&A

Dialogue with OCHRC Board Member Dr. Andres de Francisco, Deputy Executive Director, Global Forum for Health Research:

In July 2007, OCHRC conducted a dialogue with Dr. Andres de Francisco asking questions that we think will be interesting to many of you. We invite you to read the dialogue and pose your own questions (address provided below).

Q: Please describe briefly the background of OCHRC and how this online community initiative took hold?

A: Differences of child health status and child morbidity and mortality are powerful indicators of inequities between societies. Health research can contribute to improving the effectiveness of child health programmes. The OSLO CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER (OCHRC) emerged from the concern of a group of people who felt that there was no focus in child health research strategies around the world. They proposed at an annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research to promote and better focus child health research. OCHRC was subsequently instituted, and we initiated work in two main areas: priority setting for child health research, and the stakeholder identification. OCHRC undertook a comprehensive mapping of actors (institutions and individuals) active in the field of research for child health and nutrition in developing countries. We want now to maintain and expand that community in an active and dynamic fashion to enhance communication on priority setting and to promote debates on child health research priorities.

Q: The OCHRC Board of Directors is very supportive of the exciting efforts to launch this new online community. What are the Board's hopes for the community and what it can help achieve?

A: We have received a number of requests from researchers and policy makers around the world expressing the desire to contribute to the discussions on child health research and the application of results to health programmes. By creating this online community, OCHRC intends to stimulate all stakeholders to take part and thereby to promote an equitable discussion of priorities using solid parameters. Such interaction is expected to galvanize the ideas for pertinent research and, hopefully, improve the likelihood of emerging projects to be useful and funded by funding partners.

Q: How is this community integrated with the OCHRC mission?

A: The community is seen by OCHRC as a very important activity. As described above, the mapping of institutions and individuals working on child and nutrition health research was a key activity of OCHRC and promoting its communication is of paramount importance. OCHRC is working on the development of tools to identify gaps and set priorities for child health research based on knowledge and needs. By incorporating a large variety of views and concerns in the process, and by being clear on the likely outcomes and outputs of research, it is expected that the resulting products will be more useful and relevant. This will be the contribution to OCHRC's mission

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges that researchers in children's health face today?

A: I think that the main challenge is to identify and promote research that can make a difference in child health programmes in countries. It is important to do research which is basic and experimental, but the ultimate application to child health programmes and interventions needs to be the aim of conducting the research in the first place. Communication with policy makers, and understanding what they require and need in terms of information and of evidence to help them make their case is of paramount importance. We frequently, as researchers, fail to promote evidence based advocacy because we interact largely with peer researchers and not with other constituencies. Therefore, I think that the biggest challenge for researchers is to interact with others and to understand how their own research fits within the strategies aiming at improving child health in developing countries.

Q: How can the OCHRC community work together to address some of these challenges?

A: The community can actively participate in debates and include voices of people who would normally not be consulted. We hope that among the participants we will have scientists, policy makers and government colleagues, implementing agencies and donors.

Q: Are there specific resource gaps that this community can begin to help fill?

A: Priority setting exercises are expected to define gaps in knowledge, and these will define gaps in resources.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add or ask the OCHRC community?

A: Be courageous, ask the hard questions, do not feel shy as this is supposed to be your space.

If you would like to submit further questions to Dr. de Francisco, please e-mail your questions to by September 19th, 2007.