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Analysis Strengthening Research for Health in the Americas

Advancing health through research partnerships in Latin America

BMJ 2018; 362 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2690 (Published 16 July 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;362:k2690

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  1. J Jaime Miranda, research professor1 2,
  2. Ana Cristina Castro-Ávila, research fellow3 4,
  3. Luis Alejandro Salicrup, senior adviser for global health research5 6
  1. 1School of Medicine, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Avenida Honorio Delgado 430, San Martin de Porres, Lima 31, Peru
  2. 2CRONICAS Centre of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Miraflores, Lima 18, Peru
  3. 3Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, Yorkshire YO10 5DD, UK
  4. 4Carrera de Kinesiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Desarrollo, Clínica Alemana, Santiago 7610658, Chile
  5. 5Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington, DC 20037-2895, USA
  6. 6Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, United States National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
  1. Correspondence to: J J Miranda Jaime.Miranda{at}upch.pe

Jaime Miranda and colleagues argue that partnerships are key to building and sustaining health research capacity in Latin America

One of the main objectives of the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) policy on research for health1 is to develop partnerships to implement appropriate and sustainable health strategies. The policy aims to facilitate the development and scale-up of affordable and accessible products and technologies relevant to the public health challenges of the Americas; develop research groups in PAHO member states with skills that enable the exchange of research knowledge; and facilitate collaboration between diverse stakeholders including the public, government, and the academic and private sectors to tackle national and regional priorities.1

Attempts to establish partnerships in the region date back to the 1970s. For example, UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme, and various other UN agencies funded south-south partnerships among institutions in Latin America—to support research networks in biology, microbiology, and biomedical sciences.2 The objective was to promote knowledge exchange and build research capacity in countries with less well established research infrastructure by training their scientists in larger and more experienced institutions in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. However, many networks broke down because of a lack of national funding. Decades later, some noteworthy examples are emerging of north-south and south-south collaborations and partnerships.

Partnership and collaboration are often used interchangeably, but the relationships are different.3 Collaboration entails parties working together in an intellectual endeavour, whereas partnership implies a relationship between equals who share mutually defined objectives and goals.3

Developing, implementing, and sustaining partnerships can be challenging and require an understanding of the factors that hinder or promote these partnerships. Cultural barriers and knowledge silos can also affect the pursuit of meaningful partnerships. Here we explore some features of existing research partnerships that are …

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