NHRS Mapping: 15 Pacific Island countries
A NHRS Mapping initiative was conducted with 15 Pacific Island Countries to inform a regional meeting to assess how health research capacities could be strengthened in the region. The participating countries were: American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The consultation held in Nadi, Fiji in October 2007 was attended by participants from 12 of the countries and representatives and/or observers from a number of actors in the region, including WHO, the University of Auckland, University of South Pacific, Fiji School of Medicine, Fiji School of Nursing, Health Research Council of New Zealand, HRCP, New Zealand Agency for International Development, and Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
The mapping exercise provided valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the national health research systems of the 15 countries. It identified significant gaps in the governance and management frameworks required for effective health research. The meeting proposed that pacific island countries should work with each other, with global and regional agencies, and with health research councils in the region to address these gaps. It was also proposed that the mapping should be extended to the seven Pacific Island countries and areas not included in the initial exercise.
The mapping was conducted by the Fiji School of Medicine and the Health Research Council of the Pacific (HRCP) and funded by the Western Pacific Regional Office of the WHO. WHO funded and organised the consultation meeting. COHRED provided technical support to the mapping initiative and the planning of the consultation.
