Fiotec supports Fiocruz in the development of the project Building Sustainable Research Capacity for Health and its Social Determinants in Low – and Middle-Income Countries, called SDH-Net. The purpose of this project is to advance the understanding on the Social Determinants of Health (SDH), to enhance local and regional interventions and to build sustainable structures to solve inequalities in health services.
Supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the project focuses in building and strengthening the link of the health research competencies with social determinants in Africa and also in low-income Latin American countries, through a close collaboration with the European partners. The idea is to develop innovative instruments to strengthen the research capacity in the SDH field, including development of research methods and planning.
In interview to the Brazilian Bureau for Enhancing International Cooperation with the European Union (B. Bice), Alberto Pellegrini, a public health researcher in the Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca [Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health] (Ensp/Fiocruz) and project coordinator, gives details on the SDH-Net and talks about its positive impacts on society. Check below some of the questions:
What are the project goals and products?
The project will allow mapping the research capacity of the participating countries in the topic of social determinants of health (SDH), identifying institutions, researchers, projects, scientific production, knowledge dissemination and utilization mechanisms in these countries. Also, it shall develop innovative instruments to strengthen the research capacity in the SDH field, including development of research methods and planning/administration. Using modern information and communication technologies, the project will enable to narrow exchange relationships between the participating institutions, as well as an increased dissemination of the information and knowledge produced by them for the several social players that may use them.
What are the positive impacts that the project will produce to society?
Nowadays, the SDHs play a major role in the global health agenda. In October 2011, a World Conference on SDH was held in Rio de Janeiro counting with official representation of more than 120 WHO (World Health Organization) member states, as well as representatives from the international scientific community and civil society. The topic causes a great deal of interest because it is widely acknowledged that improving health situation and, particularly, reducing social inequalities in health depend of the effective action on the SDHs. For politics and action programs related to them to be really effective, it is essential that they are based on scientific evidences. Projects such as the SDH-Net, allowing the development of the research capacity relative to this theme as well as an exchange of experiences, are, therefore, greatly beneficial for the society as a whole.
Is there an understanding in Brazil of the importance of a partner such as the European Union?
The Brazilian scientific community has a great tradition of collaborative effort with European countries. The institution where I work for was founded by a distinguished Brazilian researcher called Oswaldo Cruz, who made his scientific formation in the Institut Pasteur [Pasteur Institute], with which Fiocruz maintains up to this day a very close collaborative relationship. I am not aware of any objective data relative to the magnitude of the collaboration in C&T between Brazil and the European Union. I do believe, however, that currently it is acknowledged how important an international cooperation for the development of C&T is, and one demonstration of such acknowledge is the Ciência sem Fronteiras [Science Without Borders] program, to support formation abroad. I believe that such actions shall narrow the bonds between Brazil and the European Union.
What are the benefits that this work in partnership brings to the approved projects and to the involved countries?
Nowadays, it is widely acknowledged that the modern science cannot be developed in institutions or centers set apart from society and from the exterior world as they were ebony towers. Work in collaborative networks is what has provided a great deal of advances such as the Human Genome project, and so many others. In social topics, there is an enormous need of exchange of experiences, to know what works and what does not work from this exchange and to jointly develop new solutions. All this is only possible through a systematic work in collaborative networks, such as those anticipated in this project.
