News
The Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population of Haiti launches its first National Health Research Policy
Aware of the importance of research as an essential tool for improving people’s health, the Ministry of Public Health and Population (Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population - MSPP) today launched its very first National Health Research Policy. This ceremony was attended by the local and international partners involved, in order to present the key points, strategies and implementation of this reference document.
In the presence of the Minister of Health, Dr. Marie Gréta Roy Clément, the main people involved in health research in Haiti met in Port-au-Prince to learn about the main guidelines defined by the Ministry in agreement with its partners. Through this policy, the MSPP defines strategies for the development of the health research sector for its Departments and the institutions concerned in Haiti, thereby promoting the programs appropriate for the country’s public health priorities.
On this occasion, Dr Patrick Dely, Director of Epidemiology, Laboratories and Research (DELR), Dr Lauré Adrien, Director General of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), Ms Chloé Masetti, representing the Mérieux Foundation, Professor Jean William Pape, Director of the GHESKIO Centers, M. Aniceto Rodriguez-Ruiz, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation in Haiti, among others, took the floor to present the National Health Research Policy and stress its importance, disseminate its guideline and encourage it to be taken up by the various stakeholders.
The document focuses on four strategic areas, developing the need to strengthen the institutional framework and to draw up a national research agenda to define the priority themes to be investigated for the MSPP. It also presents the need for strengthening skills at both institutional and researcher levels, promoting the use of evidence-based information to guide health decisions and raising funding for the development of the health research sector.
Drawn up as part of SPHaitiLAB, a project backed by the European Union and the Mérieux Foundation, this Policy defines a research framework that will enable the MSPP, on the basis of evidence, to improve the quality and equity of services, and the health of the Haitian people.
About SPHaïtiLAB
SPHaitiLAB is one of the projects of the European Union’s “Support for Public Health Institutes” program. Its main aim is to contribute to improving the health of the people of Haiti through analysis and strategic advice on laboratory and research policy, in particular by supporting the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) and the National Public Health Laboratory (Laboratoire National de Santé Publique – LNSP) in strategic decision-making, and by strengthening the expertise and skills of the LNSP’s resources. The project is based upon on the complementarity of its operational partners: MSPP, GHESKIO Centers, IASP and the Mérieux Foundation.
In 2018, the project enabled the development and launch of Haiti’s national laboratory policy to improve the services of the country’s medical laboratories, as part of a participatory process initiated and piloted by the MSPP, through the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratories and Research (DELR).