New global health initiative will help bridge gap between knowledge, action

UCSF and SEEK Development, a global health and development consulting group based in Berlin, Germany, have launched an international partnership that aims to improve global health by helping to turn scientific evidence into policy and action. The Evidence-to-Policy Initiative, or E2Pi, officially launches this week in San Francisco and Berlin, Germany.

“For many of the world’s major health challenges – including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal and child deaths – a failure to translate evidence on what works into practical health policies is costing lives,”  said Sir Richard Feachem, director of the UCSF Global Health Group, which is leading the collaboration.

E2Pi aims to help address some of these challenges by closing the gap between what is known and what gets done in practice.

“The gap between available scientific knowledge and its application in solving global health problems is one of the reasons why poor countries suffer such a high burden of disease and premature death,” said Feachem, who was formerly the founding executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  “E2Pi will help to address this issue by conducting rigorous and independent analyses of the available research evidence leading to specific, action-oriented recommendations to policy- and decision-makers.”

Funding for the initiative’s first three years is provided by a $3.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

E2Pi has already produced a series of briefings summarizing evidence of progress in tackling eight global health priorities (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, immunization, maternal and child health, nutrition, and neglected tropical diseases).  These briefings supported the launch of the Living Proof Project, an advocacy campaign spearheaded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to sustain and increase investments in global health (www.livingproofproject.org).

E2Pi is led by a team of policy and research experts, supported by a wider international network of global health specialists.  The U.S. hub for the project, based at the UCSF Global Health Group, is led by Gavin Yamey, M.D., a physician and former senior editor at two influential open access global health journals: PLoS Medicine and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The European hub, at SEEK Development, is directed by Christina Schrade, who has held senior positions at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and was a manager at McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm.

About the UCSF Global Health Group
The Global Health Group (GHG) of UCSF Global Health Sciences is an “action tank” dedicated to identifying, elaborating and translating innovative solutions to major global health challenges into large-scale action to advance health and save lives in low- and middle-income countries.  For more information, visit http://globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu/GHG.

About SEEK Development
SEEK Development is a consulting firm based in Berlin, Germany, that is dedicated to supporting and shaping human development globally. SEEK provides specialized support to leading institutions in global development in the areas of strategy and policy, organizational evaluation and development, knowledge generation and advocacy. For more information, visit www.seekdevelopment.org.

About UCSF
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For further information, please visit www.ucsf.edu.