In 2005, the Health Research Board and Development Cooperation Ireland (now Irish Aid) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Support of Better Health for the Poor. Irish Aid is the official development assistance programme of the Irish Government. It has as its absolute priority the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries. Support for high quality health research and increasing research capacity in developing countries is an important component of Irish Aid’s support for health. Ireland is at the forefront of health research with strong academic institutions and research centres, a well trained pool of researchers, and many health professionals who have experience of working in developing countries. Therefore, it was felt that a MoU would provide a framework which could be of mutual benefit to both organisations.
The aims of the collaboration are:
- to manage open and competitive calls with international peer review
- to generate research evidence directly related to Irish Aid’s health policy
- to encourage genuine partnerships and collaborations between Irish and Developing Country research institutions
- to focus on research that strengthens health systems
- to build research capacity in developing countries
- to disseminate the research findings to inform policy, public health and healthcare decision making.
To that end, Irish Aid has provided funding to the HRB annually since 2006 to fund applications through a Global Health Research Awards scheme and a Global Health Networking Grant scheme. In addition, the HRB and Irish Aid continue to work closely together to progress Ireland’s involvement in the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership.
