Profile: Louis Gliksman and the WHO

Brazil, Geneva, El Salvador, Montreal, Guatemala. You might be asking yourself what these locations have in common.  The answer is Dr. Louis Gliksman. Still confused? As CAMH’s Coordinator for the World Health Organization (WHO), Louis fosters connections that help build research capacity and generate policies and strategies to improve health conditions in developing countries.

According to Louis, CAMH’s relationship with the WHO dates back to the former Addiction Research Foundation. “Originally CAMH was a WHO Centre of Excellence. Now as a WHO/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Collaborating centre we work with both the regional office (PAHO) and the central office in Geneva on a variety of projects.  We are one of a handful of collaborating centres focused on mental health and addictions, and this gives CAMH an opportunity to participate in very meaningful and innovative projects.”

For example, CAMH worked with the WHO to develop some significant products, including a report on the Global Burden of Disease and a book entitled Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence. Also, the Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP) trains and educates researchers from developing countries.  For 4 to 5 months, a student works with a CAMH mentor to develop a project that he/she implements in his/her home country. The CAMH mentor continues to act as an advisor to the project, once a student returns home.  As examples, we had a student from Brazil, who developed a project designed to address barriers in healthcare for people living with HIV.  CAMH staff are also working with another student from Tanzania, who is developing a project for dealing with the heroin problem.

“The Global Alcohol Database (GAD) is another really exciting WHO initiative,” says Louis.  As the Principal Investigator, it is Louis’s responsibility to ensure the database is regularly updated with new data on consumption, trends, morbidity and mortality rates from around the world.  Louis also ensures that the database is accessible from across the world. This requires ongoing monitoring of the literature, accessing new databases and ensuring that the technology is user friendly.

The database is an extremely important and useful tool, as it gives researchers a picture of what the important issues are in any given country.  It also helps inform decisions on what research should be looking at, and guides policy reform and development on a global scale.

Currently, Louis is working on a project that is building research capacity in 3 Latin American countries.  Working with Dr. Gaston Harnois, from the collaborating centre at McGill University this project will train people on how to conduct research and implement health improvement strategies based on their findings.

“We’re working with motivated individuals from Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, who don’t have experience obtaining the necessary data to effect real change,” says Louis.  “Together with my colleagues at McGill, PAHO, and our partners in these countries, we are working to conduct research that will help them develop policies and programs to address important health issues.” 

By working together through CAMH’s designation as a WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre, developing countries gain expertises, policies, programs and a network of colleagues that they never had before.  It is an opportunity for our researchers and other staff to expand their networks and increase their understanding of mental health and addiction issues around the world.

For Louis, the most meaningful aspect of these extensive collaborations is that, “we gain just as much, or more, than we give. We live in a diverse, multi-cultural society.  Working with colleagues in places like Brazil and El Salvador, we learn invaluable information on cultural aspects of collecting data, how to over come cultural barriers, and develop useful networks around the world that continue to enhance Research at CAMH long after the project is finished.”

Visit WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centres for more information.

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