Embassy of the United States Niamey, Niger

USAID and the National Institutes of Health are supporting researchers

with grants in 33 countries to improve child survival.

The deadline for proposals is October 26, 2012, so visit http://www.nationalacademies.org/peerhealth and start your application today

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Worldwide, under-five mortality has declined from more than 12 million deaths in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010 – yet thousands of children still die every day from preventable diseases. On June 14-15, 2012, the Governments of Ethiopia, India, and the United States, together with UNICEF, convened the Child Survival Call to Action conference, mobilizing the world toward one ambitious but simple goal – ending preventable child deaths. Eighty percent of under-five deaths occur in 24 countries. More than 50 countries have signed A Promise Renewed, a pledge to work toward greater child survival. In response, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are collaborating on a new program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Health to support collaborative research projects on implementation science.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION 

PEER Health is a competitive grants program that supports scientists from USAID-focus countries who are collaborating with NIH supported researchers on implementation science projects reflecting the health priorities of focus country researchers and governments. The program intends to catalyze high quality, collaborative research projects that will address research-to-practice barriers and constraints while simultaneously building professional capacity and cross-sectoral linkages, particularly between local public health and research institutions and USAID missions. Drawing upon the capacity and investments in global health research at NIH, PEER Health will achieve the following:

• Leverage research capacity developed by the scientific community, including NIH, to accelerate reductions of under-five mortality and to advance countries’ strategic health goals as articulated in GHI country strategies and child survival plans through collaborative research partnerships
• Encourage research to improve the uptake of efficacious health interventions, and to inform and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions in order to maximize health impact and accelerate reduction in under five mortality
• Strengthen collaborations among USAID Missions, local researchers, and NIH-affiliated investigators to enhance the impact of research and innovation on public health outcomes and contribute to the evidence-base needed for policy decisions and accelerated progress towards country health objectives
• Strengthen in-country research capacity 

The PEER Health program provides grants to support scientists in 33 eligible countries on implementation science projects in support of country-specific health priorities. The 2012 program cycle focuses on Child Survival (with applications accepted from all eligible countries).