A Cross-sector Priority Setting Method - Critical Information Gaps in Malaria Research in Tanzania

This study proposes a new priority setting method for identifying critical information gaps in a multi-sector system. This method uses graph-theoretical concepts and principles of systems theory in characterizing the underlying information structure of the system. Its application is illustrated in the context of malaria research in Tanzania, drawing on the findings of a workshop held in October 2003 in Dar es Salaam. This workshop identified two critical pathways, EVHA and EVHPA, which warrant better understanding. The first suggests that the malaria research should generate information on the effects of environmental changes (E) on vector ecology (V) and then on the effects of V on human health (H) and then on the effects of H on agriculture (A). Interpreted likewise, the second pathway additionally points to the need for information on the effects of socioeconomic conditions (P) on A. Furthermore, the implied malaria information system reveals that H is the dominant information source, and V and A, the equally subordinate users of information.