Table 2 Developmental context – a key consideration for evidence-policy.

Cognizance of the complex developmental context within which policy making occurs is crucial to strengthening the evidence-policy interface. Four inter-related dimensions to these broader dynamics can be postulated: poverty; vulnerabilities; capabilities; and health shocks.

• Poverty has many manifestations and is not just financially focused – each of these manifestations has a specific relevance to the evidence-policy interface.

• Vulnerability, a result of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, requires detailed analysis in order to understand and adapt pathways from evidence to policy.

• Capabilities, both at individual and community level, influence the likelihood of pro-poor health systems based on the evidence base.

• Understanding the devastating effects of health shocks on poor individuals and communities is essential if evidence based interventions are to reach the very poor.

Research to elucidate the inter-connections between health shocks and poverty, vulnerability, and capabilities (both at the individual and community levels) may prove critical to strengthening evidence-policy linkages.