This area focuses on understanding where changes in products or delivery systems are needed to have a significant impact on health, why those changes are not being made (or are being made too slowly), and what actions can be taken or encouraged by donors and global institutions to overcome those constraining factors. For example, for products, the GHPRN is interested in policies that stimulate the development of vaccines and drugs or encourage innovation to improve diagnostic devices and delivery mechanisms that address major causes of disease and death in poor countries. The GHPRN does not focus on the science and technology of these investments, but rather looks at incentive structures, financing mechanisms, legal and regulatory issues, and the role of various institutions. Correspondingly, for delivery systems the GHPRN looks for innovative approaches to strengthening health service delivery or management systems in ways that have important health and other impacts. We consider delivery challenges principally through the lenses of incentives, financing, institutions and governance.
Sample topics:
- How can "pull" mechanisms, such as a guaranteed purchase contract, be put into operation to stimulate development of new vaccines for neglected developing country diseases?
- How can intellectual property protection be made more development-friendly?
- What is the potential for non-health technologies that have significant health impact (e.g., clean-burning stoves, pesticides) to be viewed as part of a broad set of investments in R&D by health donors?
- What financing mechanisms could help protect households from impoverishing health expenses?