South Asian nations explore ways to strengthen collaboration at forum for health research

Delegates and officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Thailand representing their health and medical research councils on Tuesday in New Delhi concluded a three-day South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAHFer) hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Pharmabiz.com reports. "India has asked the members of [SAFHer] to explore ways for strengthening collaboration by sharing innovative methods for tackling the problems faced by the countries," Pharmabiz.com writes. According to the news service, the regional meeting discussed a wide range of subject areas, including vector-borne diseases, drug resistance, influenza, and non-communicable diseases, among other topics, an official release said (2/7).

At the meeting, country representatives signed the "New Delhi declaration," which "includes a commitment on promoting research in the region, developing on health research, identifying areas for collaborative research, multi-country research, and data sharing," IANS/TwoCircles.net writes. "While Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India formed a team for research on dengue, maternal and child health had a team constituting Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and India," the news service notes (2/7).