Research for Health–Africa is a partnership between the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Agency (which is a technical arm of the African Union) and the Council on Health Research for Development that supports African countries to strengthen their capacity to manage research for health. R4HA focuses also on strengthening national systems for research, science and technology.

Working initially with three African countries: Tanzania, Senegal and Mozambique, the goal of R4HA is to build strong governance systems for managing research for health within these countries. This initiative aims to go beyond the three countries to set the regional stage for exchange of expertise on strengthening management of research for health capacity.

Research Governance

• Establish national research priorities
• Build research infrastructure
• Enable effective governance and management of research for health

R4HA Goal and Objectives

Many African countries currently lack the infrastructure and mechanisms to exercise governance of research needed to maximize research and innovation for health, equity and development. Because research and innovation are key drivers of development, strengthening national research capacity provides both an effective means and practical course of action to increase technical, social and economic development in these countries. Strengthening national capacity through substantial and sustained investments in research and innovation not only can help improve health in these countries, but also can help these countries achieve greater autonomy, development and equity.

The goal of R4HA is to provide technical assistance to participating countries in the establishment of national priorities and policies, and the strengthening of structures to enable the effective governance and management of research for health. R4HA objectives include:

• The creation of practical tools and methods that countries can use to optimize their own governance and management of research as a key strategy to improve health, equity and development.
• The development of a platform for sharing best practices between countries so that capacity may be strengthened throughout the region and beyond.
• The formation of an African centre of excellence that can support research for health governance and management throughout the continent.

Partnership

R4HA seeks to expand the partnership between NEPAD and COHRED for the purpose of strengthening national governance of research and innovation for health in Africa. Through this partnership, the ultimate goal is to generate resources and support for building an effective pan-African effort enabling African ownership of research and innovation for health in this region.

NEPAD

NEPAD is a planning and coordinating agency of the African Union that offers a strategic framework for pan-African socio-economic transformation. NEPAD was created in 2001 to address critical challenges facing the continent, including poverty, development and marginalization of the region. NEPAD is uniquely positioned to provide opportunities for African countries to take full control of their development agenda, work more closely together, build regional governance capacity, and cooperate more effectively with international partners.