Africa-Press – Eswatini. Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi launched the National Health Research Agenda 2021-2026 at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel yesterday.
She said the ministry valued research and was inclined towards evidence- based practice and decision-making.
She said the ministry of health through the NHRID in collaboration with ICAP led the review of the national health research agenda.
Nkosi added that the National Health Research Innovation Department (NHRID) was mandated to facilitate, coordinate, guide, monitor and enthuse over health research, as well as build health research capacity, productivity and culture in Eswatini.
The minister added that NHRA was an important document that presented the health research priorities for the next five years.
It represents a desire for the ministry to promote, conduct health research on prioritised conditions and diseases for evidence-based decision making.
“The review process followed a systematic process which involved multi stakeholder engagement,including the ministry’s programmes, partners and researchers through workshops where inputs were collected to inform the NHRA.
“Operationalisation of the research agenda will be continually monitored jointly by the NHRID and Eswatini Health and Human Research Review Board. Periodic feedback will be shared with the research community to ensure they are informed and guided on the thematic areas that need research attention,” she said.
As a ministry, she said they appreciated the NHRID for successfully coordinating and leading the development of this document.
She said they were grateful to ICAP whom through the CDC/PEPFAR funding provided technical support along with the World Health Organisation in the development of the document.
Nkosi appreciated all ministry’s stakeholders and partners who participated in the stakeholders meeting, hoping that other organisations and researchers will utilise the national health research agenda to inform their research activities.
Concluding, the minister urged that HPV vaccine should be administered to girls aged nine to 14 years when they received the first quota of the vaccine, and they be followed for 20 years for longitudinal research so that they were informed of the impact.
She urged that the research stakeholders stayed close to the programme and leverage resources.
She urged that the health research remained live so that it was flexible and adjusted when the need arose.
She urged that they followed on HPV. Meanwhile, Research Officer Trevor Sithole explained that the agenda was a tool that outlined national health research priorities.
He said the purpose of the NHRA was to guide researchers, policy-makers, programme implementers, academic institutions, development partners and other stakeholders on health research priorities for Eswatini until 2026.
It is an important instrument that encourages researchers to generate scientific evidence in line with priority research areas for the country.
Sithole explained that the objectives to prescribe priorities on health research to be carries out during the tenure of the research agenda.
“Other objectives are promoting rational utilisation of scarce resources on priority health research needs of the country, attract increased investment in health research and promote multi-disciplinary involvement and collaboration in the conduct of research. To facilitate the coordination of health research conducted by various stakeholders,” he said.
Sithole added that the priority research areas were communicable diseases, emerging and re-emerging diseases, non- communicable diseases, reproductive and child health, health determinants, health systems strengthening and allied health.
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