World Bank joins initiative to open up health research data

16:30, 13 January 2011

WASHINGTON DC. January 13. KAZINFORM The World Bank has joined public and charitable funders in a new initiative to allow researchers and members of the scientific community to easily access public health data.

Much of the data collection that could improve public health research is expensive and time-consuming. Funders of this research believe that making research data sets available to investigators beyond the original research team in a timely and responsible manner, subject to appropriate safeguards, will generate three key benefits:

faster progress in improving health
better value for money
higher quality science

In May 2010, the Wellcome Trust, global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health, held a joint workshop with the Hewlett Foundation in Washington DC, at which representatives of major funders of public health research, international organizations, large research studies and journals discussed how to increase sharing of public health research data. The workshop built on discussions at the global ministerial forum on research for health at Bamako (Mali) in November 2008, and wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders, Kazinform refers to the World Bank's press service.

As a result of this workshop, a group of major international funders of public health research, including major public funding agencies, charitable foundations and international organizations, have committed to work together to increase the availability of data emerging from our funded research, in order to accelerate advances in public health, for more information see www.data.worldbank.org .

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