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Global Health Policy
The right to health is a fundamental human right. Realizing this right requires access to quality health services. This access is also essential for social and economic development. IDRC’s Global Health Policy program supports research in low- and middle-income countries that targets the root causes of inequity and poor health and that will inform effective policymaking. We fund research that helps improve health systems so countries and communities can meet the health challenges they face.

Global Health Policy’s four programs support research on 
  • issues of equity in access to quality primary care 
  • policies to prevent non-communicable disease 
  • health concerns shared by five Canadian federal agencies and that supports the global health research community 
  • a discovery science program that integrates innovation in technical, social, and economic aspects of health 
 

Development Innovation Fund

The Government of Canada established the Development Innovation Fund (DIF) in 2008.The Fund aims to support the best minds in the world as they search for breakthroughs in global health and other areas that have the potential to bring about enduring changes in the lives of millions of people in poor countries.
 

Global Health Research Initiative

The Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) is a partnership of three Canadian government agencies and departments. The program funds health research and research capacity-building in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Governance for Equity in Health Systems

Governance for Equity in Health Systems (GEHS) supports research in developing countries that examines inequities in health systems and addresses the root causes of poor health. Our research partners study the functioning of health systems, including health financing, information systems, primary...
Mathare woman smoking

Non-Communicable Disease Prevention

The Non-Communicable Disease Prevention program works to generate new knowledge that provides rigorous evidence for the development and implementation of cost-effective policies to prevent non-communicable disease.​

Latest Projects

Women in Cairo are now able to report rape, harassment, and assaults through Harrassmap, a pilot project in Cairo, Egypt. The goal is to change the social acceptability of sexual harassment in Egypt.
HarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social SciencesHarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social SciencesCommunity Based Crime Prevention in GuatemalaGrowing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and ZimbabweSoutheast Asian Uplands Agriculture FellowshipsResearch Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention Strategies

Latest Projects

Guatemala is one of the most violent countries in the world. Guatemalans of every age, class and ethnicity confront violence daily in every part of the national territory. According to statistics kept by the police and the human rights ombudsman...
HarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social Sciences Community Based Crime Prevention in GuatemalaCommunity Based Crime Prevention in GuatemalaGrowing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and ZimbabweSoutheast Asian Uplands Agriculture FellowshipsResearch Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention Strategies

Latest Projects

Migrant entrepreneurs are an important force in the informal economy in southern Africa, but their role is often invisible to policymakers and researchers. New research on the contributions of these m
HarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social SciencesCommunity Based Crime Prevention in Guatemala Growing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and ZimbabweGrowing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and ZimbabweSoutheast Asian Uplands Agriculture FellowshipsResearch Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention Strategies

Latest Projects

Efforts to strengthen knowledge and research skills in agriculture and food security in the uplands of Southeast Asia are essential to developing a strong network of professionals who can address some
HarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social SciencesCommunity Based Crime Prevention in GuatemalaGrowing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe Southeast Asian Uplands Agriculture FellowshipsSoutheast Asian Uplands Agriculture FellowshipsResearch Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention Strategies

Latest Projects

In Africa, HIV is having a devastating impact on young people. Globally, youth aged 15 to 24 account for almost one third of all new infections. There are unique challenges to implementing adolescent-
HarassMap: Using Crowdsourced Data in the Social SciencesCommunity Based Crime Prevention in GuatemalaGrowing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth in South Africa, Mozambique, and ZimbabweSoutheast Asian Uplands Agriculture Fellowships Research Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention StrategiesResearch Program of Adolescent HIV Prevention Strategies

Latest Results

While sub-Saharan Africa struggles to improve the health of its women and children, there are great differences within and among countries. The EQUINET research network promotes and monitors progress toward health equity in East and Southern Africa...
Monitoring inequities in East and Southern AfricaEnsuring Southern input on global action Removing cost barriers – lessons from West Africa Applying a gender lens to health policy in IndiaEmpowering communities through health system monitoring in Guatemala

Latest Results

The voices and experience of developing country researchers are too often missing when international donors and decision-makers gather to address global health issues. Strengthening capacity and creating space for Southern expertise is one of IDRC’s...
Monitoring inequities in East and Southern Africa Ensuring Southern input on global action Removing cost barriers – lessons from West Africa Applying a gender lens to health policy in IndiaEmpowering communities through health system monitoring in Guatemala

Latest Results

Despite recent progress, as a region, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of maternal, infant, and child mortality in the world. From 2009 to 2012, researchers led by Niger’s Laboratoire d'études et de recherches sur les dynamiques sociales et...
Monitoring inequities in East and Southern AfricaEnsuring Southern input on global action Removing cost barriers – lessons from West Africa Applying a gender lens to health policy in IndiaEmpowering communities through health system monitoring in Guatemala

Latest Results

In India’s Karnataka state, girls and women face many barriers stemming from their low social status that are exacerbated by poverty and caste. Researchers with the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore are exploring how power dynamics within...
Monitoring inequities in East and Southern AfricaEnsuring Southern input on global action Removing cost barriers – lessons from West Africa Applying a gender lens to health policy in IndiaEmpowering communities through health system monitoring in Guatemala

Latest Results

Despite its middle-income status, Guatemala has some of the worst health outcomes in Latin America with more than half of its population living in poverty.  Indigenous populations in rural areas, who suffered the most during 36 years of civil war...
Monitoring inequities in East and Southern AfricaEnsuring Southern input on global action Removing cost barriers – lessons from West Africa Applying a gender lens to health policy in India Empowering communities through health system monitoring in Guatemala
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IDRC funds researchers in the developing world so they can build healthier, more prosperous societies
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