Building back better after COVID19

Building back better after COVID-19: The research agenda

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant new funding commitments for research, but for the most part these focus on finding vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for the coronavirus itself. While this is of critical importance, there is a danger that funding for research into other key global health issues, including the prevention and management of NCDs, will be side-lined.

However, the importance of chronic disease co-morbidity in terms of the impact of COVID-19 infection is a major learning from the pandemic, which has highlighted the need to escalate the battle against NCDs, not just for its own sake, but to build resilience and reduce the impact of this and future infectious disease outbreaks.

The George Institute is working on a series of analyses and outputs to highlight different aspects of the intersection of the pandemic with NCDs; the importance and impact of COVID-19 on NCD prevention and management in different contexts; and key research questions and innovation opportunities emerging as a consequence. Watch this space!

Watch video premiere and launch event

BBB Info 2

The initiative was launched with the premiere of a video produced by The George Institute, at an online event on Thursday 3 September 2020. The video brings together experts and partners around the world to consider the importance and impact of COVID-19 on NCD prevention and management in different contexts, and the key research questions emerging. The video provided the starting point for a compelling discussion between some of the participants and other global health leaders on the most urgent priorities for NCD research.

Watch launch event recording
Read launch event report

COVID-19 and non-communicable diseases: systematic mapping of registered clinical trials

Build back better

The George Institute undertook a systematic analysis of global COVID-19 related registered clinical trials by mapping how they relate to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Our analysis outlines the current challenges, and provides recommendations about what we can do even better in the future.

Download working paper (PDF 1.2 MB)
Findings and call to action (PDF 302 KB)

Watch webinar on solutions and support for the mental wellbeing of community health workers

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The latest activity in the Build Back Better initiative was a webinar titled 'Solutions and support for the mental wellbeing of community health workers (CHW) on the COVID-19 frontline'. It was held on 1 December 2020 and highlighted the urgent need for CHW-led, context-appropriate, scalable solutions and support for the mental wellbeing of CHWs working during the pandemic, and for the robust evaluation of interventions. 

Watch webinar recording