National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD - The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces its intention to fund 10 research grant awards under the new International Studies on Health and Economic Development (ISHED) Program. FIC spearheaded the development of the ISHED, working closely with four co-sponsors at the NIH: the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, in collaboration with The World Bank's Global Development Network (GDN). The combined commitment from FIC and the ISHED partners is approximately $2.2 million for the first year of these five-year awards. Total support for this program will be approximately $10 million over the next five years.
This innovative new program will support studies in an effort to understand the complex relationship between health and economic growth in low- and middle-income nations. Although it is widely accepted that better education can lead to improved economic performance, the relationship between better health and the alleviation of poverty has not been fully explored in low- and middle-income countries. The first grants awarded through the ISHED competition are designed to determine the extent to which population health status and mental health status serve as predictive indicators of economic performance using a wide range of research methodologies and testable hypotheses.
"The NIH has a major interest in ensuring that research contributes to improved health and
well-being. The ISHED will significantly stimulate research activity in this area," said FIC Director Gerald T. Keusch, M.D." on behalf of the co-sponsoring agencies. "By bridging disciplinary interests and bringing together development and health economists with medical epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, demographers, and other health profession
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Contact: Irene Edwards
301-496-2075
NIH/Fogarty International Center
3-Apr-2001