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:

 

--DR. LINDA ADAIR of the University of North Carolina,

Chapel Hill will work with colleagues at the University of

San Carlos, the Philippines on a project measuring the

effect of health on education and work in Filipino youth.

The research is expected to demonstrate how multiple

aspects of health care and nutrition at an early age

influence school performance and future earnings both

through impacts on physical and intellectual abilities.

 

--DR. JERE BEHRMAN of the University of Pennsylvania and

colleagues at the University of San Carlos, the Philippines

will perform a longitudinal study of Filipino early

childhood development.  The research will pinpoint how

early childhood interventions may improve children's

performance in school and identify how conditions in the

family and community affect that connection.

 

--DR. ANGUS DEATON of Princeton University will collaborate

with faculty at the University of Witwatersrand in

Johannesburg, South Africa to investigate the

interrelationships between poverty, inequality, and health

in economic development.  The researchers will use survey

data to investigate how social status and income inequality

affect health and well-being of people of all ages in South

Africa.

 

--DR. REYNALDO MARTORELL of Emory University and colleagues

at the Instituto de Nutricion de Centro America y Panama in

Guatemala City, Guatemala will collaborate on a study

examining links between early nutrition, human capital, and

economic productivity.  The researchers will explore how

better nutrition during early childhood can improve a

person's health and mental health status and ability to be

productive as an adult in the workplace.

 

--DR. DUNCAN THOMAS of the Rand Corporation and colleagues

at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia will

examine how the health of individuals over a long period of

time affects the work they do, how much they work, their

purchasing and savings behavior, and other important

economic measures.  This research will improve our

understanding of the relationship between health and

development at the individual level.

 

The following researchers are intended recipients of two-

year ISHED awards to further develop their proposals for

research in Africa and Latin America:

 

--DR. ANA HURTADO of the University of New Mexico will work

with the Centro de Salud in Igatimi, Paraguay to study how

ethnicity affects the connections between health and

economic outcomes among indigenous populations.  The

researchers will examine the efficacy and cost-

effectiveness of community-based health improvements.

 

--DR. EDWARD MIGUEL of the University of California,

Berkeley will develop a project with the Ministry of Health

in Nairobi, Kenya to examine how a specific improvement in

child health can affect educational and employment

prospects in western Kenya.  The researchers will also

explore what factors most affect a family's decision to

adopt a new health care tool for their children.

 

--DR. MARK PAULY of the University of Pennsylvania will

collaborate with colleagues at the University of Natal in

Durban, South Africa to assess the impact of poor health

and HIV/AIDS on small businesses and the local economies

where they are located in South Africa.

 

--DR. JEFFREY SACHS of Harvard University will work with

colleagues at the Regional Malaria Control Commission in

Durban, South Africa, to measure the economic impact of

malaria in southern Africa.

 

--DR. JONATHAN SIMON of Boston University will work with

the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit in Kericho, Kenya and

the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya to

study the impact of diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria,

and HIV/AIDS on agricultural labor productivity and

economic development in western Kenya.