NIH News Release
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
John E. Fogarty International Center
For Advanced Study in the Health Sciences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 4, 2001

Contact:
Irene Edwards
(301) 496-2075

Fogarty International Center Announces Initial Awards for International Studies on Health and Economic Development

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. — The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces its intention to fund 10 research grant awards under the new International Studies on Health and Economic Development (ISHED) Program. FIC spearheaded the development of the ISHED, working closely with four co-sponsors at the NIH: the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, in collaboration with The World Bank's Global Development Network (GDN). The combined commitment from FIC and the ISHED partners is approximately $2.2 million for the first year of these five-year awards. Total support for this program will be approximately $10 million over the next five years.

This innovative new program will support studies in an effort to understand the complex relationship between health and economic growth in low- and middle-income nations. Although it is widely accepted that better education can lead to improved economic performance, the relationship between better health and the alleviation of poverty has not been fully explored in low- and middle-income countries. The first grants awarded through the ISHED competition are designed to determine the extent to which population health status and mental health status serve as predictive indicators of economic performance using a wide range of research methodologies and testable hypotheses.

"The NIH has a major interest in ensuring that research contributes to improved health and well-being. The ISHED will significantly stimulate research activity in this area," said FIC Director Gerald T. Keusch, M.D." on behalf of the co-sponsoring agencies. "By bridging disciplinary interests and bringing together development and health economists with medical epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, demographers, and other health professionals, we expect to promote the exploration of new concepts, develop new methodologies, and analyze new experimental data." Noting in particular the partnership with the GDN, Keusch emphasized that "alliances between the NIH and other national and international agencies addressing global health are an essential strategy for creating the needed research environment and human capacity to address these complex issues. Partnerships such as the ones that underpin the ISHED are vital to advancing long-term global health goals." He added, "We anticipate a subsequent re-competition of the ISHED in FY 2003."

Five of the ISHED awards are full five-year grants, and five are at a reduced level for two years and are intended to support further development of the research approach and methods for potential future funding.

The following researchers are intended recipients of ISHED awards:

The following researchers are intended recipients of two-year ISHED awards to further develop their proposals for research in Africa and Latin America:

FIC is the international component of the NIH. FIC promotes and supports scientific discovery internationally to reduce disparities in global health. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fact sheets, press releases, and other FIC-related materials are available at http://www.nih.gov/fic.