Purpose

The R&D Task Force will develop tools to help GHSA countries and donors make a clear case for the link between R&D capacity-building and health security targets, to set clear road maps for strengthening R&D capacity-building, and hold dialogues that help identify and highlight key bottlenecks for decision-makers. The R&D Task Force will also actively coordinate with other relevant Action Packages such as those on antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, biosafety & biosecurity, laboratory systems, and sustainable finance as well as other GHSA Task Forces to ensure that R&D for medical countermeasures is integrated with those forums.

Primary Activities

• Clarify the links between R&D capacity-building efforts and health security, including with the International Health Regulations (IHR)/Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and to scope or focus the Task Force’s work.
• Strengthen assessment of country and regional research capacity, identify gaps, and highlight indicators and metrics that can track progress for GHSA members as local R&D capabilities are enhanced.
• Encourage the identification and implementation of new actions from public- and private-sector GHSA partners to strengthen R&D for health security.
• Collaborate with GHSA Action Packages and other Task Forces to ensure that R&D for medical countermeasures is more formally integrated into those discussions, and look for opportunities to connect with external partners to break down silos.
• Deepen international collaboration on health security R&D by convening relevant actors to identify barriers to communication and collaboration and develop road maps for improvement, including in relation to financing, data-sharing, and the coordination of targeted research calls.
  All activities are subject to further discussion with task force members and will be a primary focus during the kickoff meeting.

Expected Outcomes

• Define scope of R&D for GHSA and links to GHSA 2024 Target (e.g. preclinical research through manufacturing).
  • Develop an agreed-upon tool, including indicators and metrics, for gaining an overall understanding of country R&D capacities and regional gaps in the relevant strategic priority areas, that aligns with the IHR/JEE and is informed by the Global Health Security Index 1 and landscaping done by the World Health Organization’s ESSENCE on Health Research initiative.
  • Hold dialogues and consultations on current barriers and bottlenecks of R&D for medical countermeasures, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and priority areas for regional apacity-building.
  • Develop a road map for connecting sustainable financing mechanisms, particularly through international financial institutions, to GHSA R&D capacity-building initiatives. 

  Potential timeline:

  ● Month 1: Hold kickoff meeting for Task Force discussing scope and workplan.
  ● Month 2: Recruit additional country participants.
  ● Month 3: Finalize workplan and begin discussion on defining R&D for GHSA and starting the process of developing a set of indicators for assessing country capacity for research.
  ● Months 4–12: Begin holding dialogues and briefings on R&D capacity-building, continue work on elevating R&D in other GHSA workstreams, and finalize tools for assessing R&D capacity.
  ● Task Force meetings or conference calls will be held remotely as needed, on a monthly or six-week basis.
  ● Updates to the Steering Group featuring a summary of activities, progress, and remaining challenges and work (prior to scheduled Steering Group meetings).
  ● Month 13: Provide progress update to GHSA Steering Group.