The awards support efforts at U.S. universities to meet the need for international training and research programs in population-related sciences for scientists and health professionals from developing countries. Funded projects include research and training programs in areas related to reproductive processes; contraceptive development; and demographic studies of population and health issues, including rapid societal changes, societies under stress, and aging.

According to projections by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, world population will increase from 6.0 billion in 1999 to over 7.9 billion by 2025, reaching 9.3 billion by 2050. The future of human population growth is largely being decided by the world's less developed countries (LDCs). Ninety-six percent of world population increase occurs in the LDCs of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and this percentage will rise over the course of the next quarter-century. Indeed, 99 percent of global natural population increase — the difference between numbers of births and deaths — occurs in the developing world.

The ITRPH awards will enhance domestic population research programs, enabling NIH grant recipients to extend the geographic base of their work internationally, and will strengthen the ability of scientists from developing nations to contribute to global population research efforts and advance knowledge in support of population policies appropriate for their home countries and established international guidelines.

"The trends in population growth have important ramifications for global health," says FIC Director Gerald T. Keusch, M.D. "We know that high birth rates and poor health may impede sustainable economic development, and that increasing population growth contributes to increasing health disparities within and among countries. The work done by the ITRPH grantees will help us better understand the relationships among health, development, and population — including the important social, cultural, and behavioral aspects of population research."

The following universities were successful applicants for the awards:

• Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, Oregon Health Sciences University (Program Director, Dr. P. Michael Conn). Collaborating countries: Chile, Mexico

• Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, University of Pennsylvania (Program Director, Dr. Jerome F. Strauss). Collaborating countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico

• Population Studies Center, University of Michigan (Program Director, Dr. David Lam). Collaborating countries: Brazil, China, Nepal, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam

• Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina (Program Director, Dr. Barry Popkin). Collaborating countries: China, Ecuador, Philippines, Russia, Thailand

• University of Virginia (Program Director, Dr. John Herr). Collaborating countries: China, India

• Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania (Program Director, Dr. Tukufu Zuberi). Collaborating countries: Argentina, Bolivia Cameroon, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, The Gambia, Mali, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, Zambia

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Program Director, Dr. Frank French). Collaborating countries: Brazil, Chile, China, India, Kenya

• Johns Hopkins University (Program Director, Dr. Ron Gray). Collaborating country: Uganda

• University of Wisconsin - Madison (Program Director, Dr. Alberto Palloni). Collaborating countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico

FIC is a component of the NIH. FIC promotes and supports scientific discovery internationally and mobilizes resources to reduce disparities in global health. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fact sheets, press releases, and other information about FIC are available at: http://www.nih.gov/fic.