Global Research Community

Researchers have explain the results of a survey aim to determine the current applicability of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Research Roadmap and whether there are innovative priorities that must be listening carefully on at this point in time during the pandemic.

Researchers from the UK Collaborative on Development Research, the University of Oxford, and the African Academy of Science conduct an online survey and held workshops; somewhere researchers instead of all WHO regions were capable to rank instant and longer-term priority.

The outcome show that the global research community ropes the accessible WHO Roadmap, but emphasize areas where more focus is desired and where new priority have emerge.

The Corona virus has evolve at different time points across the globe

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed a global pandemic on 11th March, and the WHO published its Global Research Roadmap the next date.

The aim was to organize and accelerate the global research answer base on the views of 400 experts worldwide.

Three-to-four instant research priority was recognized across each of nine themes ranging from “Virus natural history, broadcast and diagnostics” to “Social sciences in the occurrence answer.”

Given that the pandemic is now being tackle in very dissimilar context and with more higher perceptive, the researchers aimed to construct on the unique work of the WHO by obtain a more current perception on what the research priority should be now.

Key questions that be addressed

In a mixed-methods study connecting an online survey and workshops, members of the global research community were ask which of the initial WHO roadmap main concern are still the most crucial; whether they are still appropriate in different setting, regions, or countries and whether any new priority have emerge.

Overall, 1,528 persons finished the survey, and 2,559 attend the workshops, from across 137 countries. The popular were employed in academy, hospitals, research organization, and non-government organizations.

Study of the responses show that the original WHO Roadmap remains applicable globally, but that definite areas require more importance. It also show that important new priority have emerge, mainly regarding less-resourced countries where healthcare system are already badly equipped.

The study recognized that more research is wanted to link knowledge gaps in assured areas, particularly those regarding kids, pregnancy, and long-term healthiness impact of the disease.

A shift in center from vaccine growth to public health interference

There was a change in focus from vaccines and therapy development, more towards the efficiency of public health intervention and actions.

known that a vaccine may still not be available for at most a year and that no useful antiviral have yet be developed, the only intervention that have been implementable and useful have concerned public health procedures to curb the spread of the disease.

New priority and theme

A variety of new priorities and themes were recognized. For the theme “Virus natural history, transmission and diagnostics,” for example, one new main concern was “enhanced diagnostic tools for safer sample collection, earlier and easier assay.”

For the theme “Social sciences in the occurrence reply,” a new priority “understood COVID-19 in the context of variance, civil war, and refugee situation.”

New themes had also emerged; together with “Preparing for the next virus,” for which “assessment of governmental policies and lessons learn” was a main concern. One more new theme was “Cross-cutting,” wherever “the use of technology in a variety of aspect of virus response” was flag as a main concern.

The research “achieved its aim”

Lang and social group say the learning has “achieved its aim” and determined the current global research priority that now need address to help battle the COVID-19 and get ready for any future outbreaks.