Response to editor's page: health equity does matter.

Abstract

We were very pleased to see the Strategic Plan for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH) profiled on the Editor's page in the November/December 2009 issue of CJPH (Vol.100, No.6, pg.404). It provides a succinct, thorough and accurate summary of our new directions with one important exception. The Editor indicates that global health is a "glaring omission" from the plan. We would argue that global health is infused throughout the new IPPH strategic plan. In the process of renewing our strategy, the IPPH in consultation with the health research community took the bold step of integrating global health research across our strategic research priorities. Our vision and mission statement express this approach, as does our specific commitment to foster the refinement of ethical frameworks for population health interventions in Canada and globally. We are reminded daily of the importance of a global health lens for our public health work. Whether we are talking about issues of tobacco control, food security, harm reduction, emerging infectious diseases, or natural disasters, global health concerns directly influence how we might consider approaching public health problems. These global challenges transcend national boundaries and affect the health of Canadians and citizens around the globe. The first strategic plan for IPPH identified global health research as a standalone priority. Several IPPH funding opportunities were specifically directed at global health research. In addition, the Global Health Research Initiative was established. This is a cooperative partnership between CIHR, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian International Development Agency, Health Canada (and more recently the Public Health Agency of Canada). Through the Global Health Research Initiative, joint funding mechanisms for global health research have been created such as the Teasdale Corti Team program and leadership awards. CIHR is involved in other global health research initiatives as well. Recent examples include: CIHR's involvement as a founding partner in the Global Alliance for Chronic Disease, which aims to coordinate international research funding priorities in chronic diseases; and, the International Research Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change, co-led by CIHR (with IPPH as the lead), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the IDRC.