REGIONAL COMMITTEE
Provisional Agenda item 15.1
Fifty-eighth Session Colombo, Sri Lanka 6-10 September 2005
SEA/RC58/10 3 August 2005
UNDP /WORLD BANK/WHO SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN TROPICAL DISEASES: JOINT COORDINATING BOARD (JCB) REPORT ON ATTENDANCE BY REPRESENTATIVES FROM BANGLADESH AND MYANMAR AT 2005 JCB
1.
INTRODUCTION
The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) has been set up under the administrative aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO) and is cosponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank. The Special Programme, which is a long-term endeavour, has two principal goals: (1) To develop new methods of preventing, diagnosing and treating selected tropical diseases, methods that would be applicable, acceptable and affordable by developing countries, require minimal skills or supervision and be readily integrated into the health services of these countries, and (2) To strengthen – through training in biomedical and social sciences and through support to institutions – the capability of developing countries to undertake the research required to develop these new disease control technologies.
2.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE
2.1 Noting of the Report on JCB Session The Regional Committee, at an earlier session, recommended that JCB members should report to the Consultative Committee for Programme Development and Management (CCPDM) giving a summary of the deliberations of the last JCB session attended by them. Representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar reported on the deliberations of the 28th Session of the Joint Coordinating Board (JCB), held in Geneva on 23-24 June 2005, to the 42nd Meeting of CCPDM, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 5-7 July 2005. The Regional Committee may note the report of the representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar to the 42nd Meeting of CCPDM.
2.2 Salient Points from the 28th Session of JCB The 28th Session of JCB was attended by 40 representatives from 27 governments, (from countries who are elected Members of JCB-TDR) and 4 Cosponsor agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank and WHO). Representatives of 22 governments and organizations also participated in the session as observers. Prof. Bijan Sadrizadeh (Islamic Republic of Iran) was elected Chairperson for two years - for the 28th (2005) and 29th (2006) sessions. Dr Jacques Laruelle (Belgium) and Dr Rodrigo Correa De Oliveira (Brazil) were elected Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur respectively, for the 28th Session for one year. Some strategic changes have been brought about in TDR’s internal infrastructure. A new infrastructure has been established by combining some of the existing units. These are: (a) Science Strategy and Knowledge Management (SSK); (b) Implementation Research and Methods (IRM); (c) Strategic and Discovery Research (SDR); (d) Product Development and Evaluation (PDE); and (e) Research Capacity Strengthening (RCS).
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Five main messages from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) were noted: (1) TDR should maintain its core functions and competencies. (2) Flexibility should be allowed regarding: (a) opportunities and ad hoc activities, and (b) by the 70:20:10 formula (i.e. 70 for operations; 20 for personnel costs; 10 for “operational support”, defined as travel, meetings, rent, overheads, etc.). (3) TDR needs to pay close attention to negotiating interfaces and partnerships professionally and effectively. (4) Transitioning out of activities should be planned for and appropriate mechanisms set up. (5) Best practices should be built in for portfolio management. TDR’s 10-year Vision TDR’s 10-year vision aims to focus appropriately on international health research in the coming years. Main elements will include: (a) the need for leadership in tropical diseases research; (b) historical perspective of TDR’s mission and achievements, and (c) global trends and consequences of TDR. TDR reviewed some key global trends in terms of population and epidemiology as well as evolving needs and capacities in the regions. TDR’s main challenges were: (a) relating to TDR’s research for health to human development; (b) changing epidemiology of diseases and interactions between diseases; (c.) flexibility and responsiveness to research needs; (d) capacity-building with emphasis on stakeholdership, and (e) ability to mobilize resources in a highly competitive environment. TDR will engage the core functions identified by STAC which includes: (a) capacitybuilding; (b) best evidence-based practices; (c) knowledge management; (d) convener for agenda setting, and (e) core R&D programmes which interface at various levels with the first four core functions mentioned above. Membership of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee As on 1 January 2006, 16 Members are proposed for membership of STAC after endorsement by JCB. From the SEA Region, Prof. N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research, India, has been proposed. His term continues from 2000 until 2006. Other Members are from outside the SEA Region.
2.3 Selection of JCB Members Currently, under paragraph 2.2.1 of the Memorandum of Understanding (governments selected by contributors to the Special Programme resources), India is a Member until 31 December 2006. Four vacancies will occur in January 2006, when the terms of office of Malaysia, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States of America will expire. During JCB 28, governments of Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Netherlands were selected. Thailand was eligible for selection according to this paragraph but the government
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did not apply. Under paragraph 2.2.2 (governments selected by WHO regional committees), Myanmar is a Member until 31 December 2006, and Bangladesh until 31 December 2007. There will be no vacancies for JCB membership under paragraph 2.2.2 from 1 January 2006 in the SouthEast Asia Region. Under paragraph 2.2.3 (Members selected by JCB itself from among the remaining Cooperating Parties), there will be one vacancy when the membership of Brazil expires on 1 January 2006, but no Member State from the SEA Region has applied for membership under this paragraph. The Government of USA has been elected.
2.4 Conclusions and Recommendations JCB made several recommendations which will be included in its report. The recommendations that have implications for the South-East Asia Region are given below: (1) Contrary to the JCB recommendation not to commit funds for implementation of research on HIV activities, it is recommended that TDR continues its involvement in this area but undertakes no further financial commitment. Technical and advisory support by TDR to these activities is welcome by JCB. (2) Partnerships between research centres and the local industry in developing countries and TDR should be increased with the objective of building capacity as well as transferring technology. TDR can help build these bridges. (3) TDR should promote interaction between research centres in developing and least developed countries, and actively search for funds to support this activity. In collaboration with donors, TDR should build research capacity as well as establish research centres that can be central to downstream implementation research. (4) TDR must play an important role in the current trend of developing mass treatment programmes. TDR should be involved in evaluating the impact of these treatments, while being aware that multidrug treatment of disease is an issue that needs more in-depth analysis since several factors (e.g. resistance, compliance) need to be evaluated at the same time. (5) The proposal of the Standing Committee to increase its membership, as stipulated in paragraph 2.2.3, from 3 to 6, may be approved. On the advice of the Legal Office, JCB also recommended that the JCB Chairperson and Vice-chairperson, and the STAC Chairperson participate in future meetings of the Standing Committee. This will not require any modification to MoU. (6) TDR should develop mechanisms to evaluate the impact of TDR-funded research on morbidity and mortality caused by target diseases. (7) TDR should develop a work plan of an objective programme of treatment of dengue fever and pathogenesis of haemorrhagic fever with vaccines. (8) A mechanism should be designed to develop bilateral research with diseaseendemic countries and donor countries to further support capacity-building. (9) The term “observer” should be changed to “participant” to accommodate the needs of countries that will seek governmental support to participate in JCB meetings.