Project 461554

In December 2016, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly convened a meeting of research teams from Canada, China, India and South Africa in Geneva, Switzerland. The aim of the meeting was to consider the design and implementation of linked research cohorts that would test interventions to prevent overweight and obesity in children and reduce risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Research designs would utilize a Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHAD) approach whereby interventions would start preconception and health outcomes would be measured in children around 4-5 years of age. The research teams also discussed the principles of collaboration and coordination. The collaboration would be known as the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) This meeting followed two years of conceptualisation by CIHR and WHO including engagement with other national funding agencies. Competitive funding opportunities and evaluation of proposals were used to identify the research teams. Representatives from the respective funding agencies – CIHR, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) met concurrently to agree the governance structure of the initiative and processes for future coordination. The four agencies agreed to constitute a HeLTI Council that would meet regularly to provide project oversight and consider additional partnership opportunities.