The Regional Office helps to promote the use of evidence-based findings. Photo credit: WHO The strategy of the operational research in tropical and other communicable diseases programme seeks to ensure that collective global research efforts are more effective and responsive in responding to research priorities in disease-endemic countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It recognizes the need for these countries to play a major role in research and priority-setting to ensure relevance, sustainability and optimal health impact for the poor.

The strategic approach is to:

generate new basic knowledge about communicable diseases

evaluate new and improved tools, including medicines, vaccines and diagnostics devised for the prevention and control of infectious diseases

evaluate new or improved public health policies

forge a close link between researchers and local control programme management

monitor and evaluate the implementation of research results by control programmes

disseminate research results for their effective use in the prevention and control of communicable diseases.