Beginning of the Process
The first step to effectively develop the initiative was defining the technical cooperation scope, among the Center of Technological Development in Health (CDTS / FIOCRUZ) and Decit, followed by the organization of the process which led to a collective meeting, with the participation of the process coordinating institutions. Expert were invited to represent each disorder along with the technical areas of the Ministry of Health.
In the meeting, attendees came up with and agreed on strategies for holding a workshop at national level with the aim to learn the state of art and set research priorities for each disease.
Definition of Neglected Diseases Record
An important decision that required a lot of discussion refers to the selection of neglected diseases to be addressed in the public Call for Bid. To elucidate the subject, the historic evolution of the concept of neglected diseases was rescued, when it was reminded that the discussion had begun in 1977, with the Rockefeller Foundation instituting the Program Great Neglected Diseases of Mankind, which lasted until the year 2000. In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders (DWB) intended to classify the disease into Global, Neglected and More Neglected.
Initially, 10 diseases were considered, defined now by the Special Program of Research and Training in Tropical Diseases of WHO (TDR / WHO) as neglected, and from those, six priority diseases in Research and Development (R&D) in Health were selected.
Criteria for the Composition of the Workgroups
The criterion for selecting researchers to participate in the preparatory phase of the workshop was based on the analysis of their publications productivity in the period 2000-2006, according to the Institute Web Knowledge for the Scientific Information related to each of the neglected diseases selected.
The same criterion was adopted to compose the workshops groups. The managers' selection to compose the workgroups was defined together with the areas of control of diseases and management of the Ministry of Health programs.
Methodological Path
The discussion went on to be subsidized by the study of the priorities in Research and Development (R&D) in neglected diseases, a study developed by international institutions, which began in the 90’s. The study proposes the categorization in two modes: Mode 1 and 2 to understand knowledge generation, according to the details and permanent adaptation of the chart below:
1994: Different modes of knowledge production:
Modo 1. The problems are identified and solved in an academic context that obeys specific communities' interests.
Former: CNPq, HHMI
Mode 2. The search for knowledge seeks a practical application:
Former: TDR, FINEP/MCT, Decit/MS e indústria.
This initiative, in partnership with the Science and Technology Department / Ministry of Health (Decit), along with the technical cooperation of the Center of Technological Development in Health (CDTS / FIOCRUZ) for Neglected Diseases, is inserted in Mode 2. The expectation is that this effort results in practical applications of research products, incentive to transdisciplinarity, assembling heterogeneous teams and exercising quality control with social, political and economical criteria.
1997: The Pasteur’s Quadrant and the “inspired research in use”
- Failure of the linear model that separates basic from applied research
- Basic Science
- Necessary? YES
- Necessary and sufficient? NO
- A new model:
- The bi-dimensional conceptual plan, (Stokes, 1997)
For the TDR method, the 10 neglected diseases can be grouped into 3 categories according to the description below:
Category 1 - Sleeping Sickness - Dengue – Leishmaniasis
- Emerging or out of control diseases.
- The focus should be on the generation of new knowledge and in the development of new interventions and systems.
Category 2 – Malaria - Schistosomiasis – Tuberculosis
- In spite of a control strategy, the disease burden persists.
- R&D activities cover a wide spectrum, but they are focused on the development and tests of new interventions and strategies.
Category 3 - Chagas’ Disease. Hansen’s Disease - Filariasis and Onchocerciasis
The control strategies are effective, the disease burden decreases and its elimination is planned as a public health issue.
The research
aims to improve the current control activities and to eliminate
risks.
For Morel,
the three categories need strategies other than intervention
as disclosed in the matrix below:
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