Katerini Storeng et al.: Action to protect the independence and integrity of global health research

In BMJ Global Health, 2019.

BMJ global health

Authors

Katerini T Storeng, Seye Abimbola, Dina Balabanova, David McCoy, Valery Ridde, Veronique Filippi, Sidsel Roalkvam, Grace Akello, Melissa Parker, Jennifer Palmer.

Summary

In a recent Viewpoint in the Lancet, some of us shared our experience of censorship in donor-funded evaluation research and warned about a potential trend in which donors and their implementing partners use ethical and methodological arguments to undermine research.

To start a discussion on ways forward, we invited input from an international network of global health, health systems and policy researchers from diverse disciplines. Below, we discuss suggestions, endorsed by more than 200 researchers based in 40 different countries (see the full list of signatories below), on how the organisations that commission, undertake and publish research and evaluations can safeguard independence and integrity.

Signatories

Abejirinde, Ibukun, Independent Researcher and Consultant, Toronto, Canada. Abimbola, Seye, The University of Sydney, Australia. Adebiyi, Babatope, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Affun-Adegbulu, Clara, Institute of Tropical Medicine/ University of Antwerp, Belgium. Ahlgren, Jhon Álvarez, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Ahmad, Ayesha, St George’s University of London/ University College London, United Kingdom. Akello, Grace, Gulu Univerity, Uganda. Al-Awlaqi, Sameh, Independent consultant, Yemen. Aloys, Zongo, Ministere de la santé, Burkina Faso. Amul, Gianna Gayle, University of Geneva, Switzerland/National University of Singapore, Singapore. Arthur, Joshua, Public Health Unit, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Asaduzzaman, Muhammad, University of Oslo, Norway. Asgedom, Akeza Awealom, University of Bergen, Norway. Assarag, Bouchra, National School of Public Health, Morocco. Atchessi, Nicole, Université d’Ottawa, Canada. Atkins, Salla, Tampere University, Finland. Badejo, Okikiolu, Institute of Tropical Medicine/University of Antwerp, Belgium/APIN Public Health Initiatives, Nigeria. Bærøe, Kristine, University of Bergen, Norway. Bailah Molleh, Sustainable Health Systems, Sierra Leone, Balabanova, Dina, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Bazzano, Alessandra, Tulane University, USA. Béhague, Dominique P., Vanderbilt University, USA/Kings College London, United Kingdom. Beisel, Uli, University of Bayreuth, Germany.Belaid, Loubna, McGill University, Canada. Bernays, Sarah, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and School of Public Health/ University of Sydney, Australia. Bhuiyan, Shafi, University of Toronto, Canada. Biermann, Olivia, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Birungi, Harriet, Population Council, Kenya. Blanchet, Karl, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Blystad, Astrid, University of Bergen, Norway. Bodson, Oriane, Université de Liège, Belgium. Bonnet, Emmanuel, Centre IRD de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Bose, Shibaji, Independant Consultant, Future Health System, Norway. Bozorgmehr, Kayvan, Bielefeld University/ Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany. Brear, Michelle, University of the Free State- Qwaqwa, South Africa. Burgess, Rochelle, University College London, United Kingdom. Byskov, Jens, University of Copenhagen, Denmark/University of Zambia, Zambia. Carillon, Séverine, Ceped, Université Paris Descartes/ L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France. Cavallaro, Francesca L., L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France. Chabeda, Sophie, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya. Chandler, Clare, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Chapman, Rachel University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Chikuse, Francis F., Pathcare, Namibia. Chinwe, Juliana Iwu, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Cislaghi, Beniamino, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Closser, Svea, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Colvin, Christopher J., University of Cape Town, South Africa. Cresswell, Jenny, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. da Cunha Saddi, Fabiana, Federal University of Goias, Brazil. Daire, Judith, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. Dalglish, Sarah, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. de Brouwere, Vincent, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. de Sardan, Jean-Pierre Olivier, Laboratoire d’études et de recherches sur les dynamiques sociales et le développement local (LASDEL), Niger. Delvaux, Thérèse, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Desgrées du Loû, Annabel, L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France. Diallo, Brahima A., MRC Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, The Gambia. Diarra, Aïssa, Laboratoire d’études et recherches sur les dynamiques sociales et le développement local, Niger. Dixon, Justin, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Doherty, Tanya, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa. Dumont, Alexandre, L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France. Eboreime, Ejemai, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Nigeria. Engelbrecht, Beth, Provincial Department of Health, Western Cape Government, South Africa. Erikson, Susan, Simon Fraser University, Canada. Faye, Adama, Université de Dakar, Senegal. Filippi, Véronique, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Fischer, Sara, Georgetown University, USA. Fournet, Florence, L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Côte d’Ivoire. Fox, Ashley M., Assistant Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Abany, USA. Francis, Joel Msafiri, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Gautier, Lara, Université de Montréal, Canada. George, Asha, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Gilson, Lucy, University of Cape Town, South Africa/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Gimbel, Sarah, University of Washington, USA. Glenn, Jeff, Brigham Young University, USA. Gopinathan, Unni, University of Oslo, Norway. Gordeev, Vladimir S., Queen Mary University of London/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Gradmann, Christoph, University of Oslo, Norway. Graham, Janice E. Dalhousie University, Canada. Gram, Lu, University College London, United Kingdom. Greco, Giulia, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Grepin, Karen, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Guichard, Anne, Université Laval, Canada. Gupta, Pragya Tiwari, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Ethiopia. Guzman, Viveka, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Haaland, Marte E. S., University of Bergen, Norway. Häggblom, Anna, Global Health Advisors, Norway. Hagopian, Amy, University of Washington, USA. Hammarberg, Karin, Monash University, Australia. Handschumacher, Pascal, Université de Strasbourg, France. Hann, Katrina, Sustainable Health Systems, Sierra Leone. Hasselberg, Marie, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Hawkes, Sarah, University College London, United Kingdom. Howard, Natasha, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Hurtig, Anna-Karin, Umeå University, Sweden. Hussain, Sameera, University of Ottawa/Canadian Society for International Health, Canada. Hutchinson, Eleanor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Idoteyin, Ezirim, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Nigeria. Infanti, Jennifer J., Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. Irwin, Rachel, Lund University, Sweden. Islam, Shariful, Deakin University, Australia. Joarder, Taufique, FHI 360- Bangladesh Office, Bangladesh. John, Preethi, Chitkara University, India. Johnson, Ermel, West African Health Organisation, Burkina Faso. Johri, Mira, Université de Montréal, Canada. Justice, Judith, University of California San Francisco, USA. Kaboré, Charles. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Burkina Faso. Kadio, Kadidiatou, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Burkina Faso. Kamwa, Matthieu, HDM Consulting/Global Health/York University, Canada. Kelly, Ann H., King’s College London, United Kingdom. Kenworthy, Nora, University of Washington Bothell, USA. Kittelsen, Sonja, University of Oslo, Norway. Kloster, Maren Olene, University of Oslo, Norway. Kocsis, Emily, Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research, Canada. Koon, Adam, Johns Hopkins University, USA. Kumar, Pratap, Strathmore University Business School, Kenya. Lal, Arush, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine/London School of Economics, United Kingdom. Lange, Isabelle, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Lanthorn, Heather, IDinsight, USA. Le Marcis, Frederic, ENS de Lyon, France. Lees, Shelley, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Lexchin, Joel, York University, Canada. Lie, Ann Louise, University of Oslo, Norway. Limenih, Gojjam, University of Alberta/University of British Columbia, Canada. Litwin-Davies, Isabel, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Lodda, Charles Clarke, University of Bath, United Kingdom. Lönnroth, Knut, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Manton, John, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Manzi, Anatole, Partners in Health, USA/University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda. Manzoor, Mehr, Tulane University, USA. Marchal, Bruno, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Marten, Robert, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Matsui, Mitsuaki, Nagasaki University School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Japan. Mbewe, Allan, University of Zambia, Zambia. Mc Sween-Cadieux, Esther, Université de Montréal, Canada. McGoey, Linsey, University of Essex, United Kingdom. McNeill, Desmond, University of Oslo, Norway. Mendenhall, Emily, Georgetown University, USA. Méndez, Claudio A., Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile. Mirzoev, Tolib, University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Mohammed, Shafiu, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. Moland, Karen Marie, University of Bergen, Norway. Molyneux, Sassy KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya/ University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Mumtaz, Zubia, University of Alberta, Canada. Murray, Susan Fairley, King’s College London, United Kingdom. Nambiar, Devaki, George Institute for Global Health, India. Nelson, Erica, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Nieto-Sanchez, Claudia, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Norheim, Ole Frithjof, University of Bergen, Norway. Nouvet, Elysée, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Obare, Francis, Population Council, Kenya. Okungu, Vincent, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Onarheim, Kristine Husøy, University College London, United Kingdom. Østebø, Marit Tolo, University of Florida, USA.Ouattara, Fatoumata, L’Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Togo/France. Ozawa, Sachiko, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. Pai, Madhukar, McGill University, Canada. Paina, Ligia, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, USA. Palmer, Jennifer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Parashar, Rakesh, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. Parker, Melissa, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Paul, Elisabeth, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Peeters, Koen, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Pennetier, Cédric, L’institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Côte d’Ivoire. Penn-Kekana, Loveday, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Peters, David, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Pfeiffer, James, University of Washington, Seattle/Health Alliance International, USA. Pot, Hanneke, University of Oslo, Norway. Prashanth, N.S., Institute of Public Health, Bangalore, India. Preston, Robyn, CQ University, Australia. Puyvallee, Antoine de Bengy, University of Oslo, Norway. Rahmalia, Annisa, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands. Reid-Henry, Simon, Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom. Ridde, Valéry, L’Université Paris Descartes/ L’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France. Roalkvam, Sidsel, University of Oslo, Norway. Rodríguez, Daniela C. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. Ronse, Maya, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Sacks, Emma, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, USA. Samb, Oumar Mallé, Université du Québec, Canada. Sanders, David, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Sarkar, Nandini, D.P. Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Sarriot, Eric, Save the Children USA, USA. Scheel, Inger Brummenæs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway. Schwarz, Thomas, Medicus Mundi International Network, Switzerland. Scott, Kerry, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Seeley, Janet, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Seward, Nadine, Kings College London, United Kingdom. Shannon, Geordan, University College London, United Kingdom. Shearer, Jessica, Health Systems Innovation and Delivery Program, PATH, USA. Shelley, Katharine Health Systems Innovation and Delivery Program, PATH, USA. Sherr, Kenneth, University of Washington/Health Alliance International, USA. Shiffman, Jeremey, Johns Hopkins University, USA. Simard, Frédéric, L’institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France. Singh, Neha S., London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Soors, Werner, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Springer, Rusla Anne, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Storeng, Katerini T., University of Oslo, Norway/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. Strong, Adrienne, University of Florida, USA. Sundby, Johanne, University of Oslo, Norway. Taylor, Stephen, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Tetui, Moses, Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda. Topp, Stephanie M., James Cook University, Australia. Tsofa, Benjamin, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya. Turcotte-Tremblay, Anne-Marie, Université de Montréal, Canada. Undie, Chi-Chi, Population Council, Kenya. Van Belle, Sara, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. Van Heteren, Godelieve, Independent Consultant, The Netherlands. van Rensburg, André Janse, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Veena Sriram, University of Chicago, USA. Venkatapuram, Sridhar, King’s College London, United Kingdom. Wagenaar, Bradley H., University of Washington, USA. Wallace, Lauren, McMaster University, Canada. Walugembe, David R., University of Western Ontario, Canada. Wariri, Oghenebrume. MRC Unit the Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, The Gambia. Whiteside, Alan OBE, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa/Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Canada. Yakob, Bereket, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Ethiopia. Zakayo, Scholastica, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya. Zitti, Tony Université Paris Descartes, France. Zwi, Anthony, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Published June 19, 2019 3:34 PM - Last modified Sep. 27, 2022 1:05 PM