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www.thelancet.com Vol 390 July 8, 2017 123 the research and policy development process, thus addressing the absence of congruence between the research design and the needs of the study population. These knowledge broker units, which aim to make research understandable to policy makers, are valuable components of the multidisciplinary research centres in LMICs that Belizan and Miller proposed. Research in LMICs also benefits from improved information about ongoing research, including clinical trials, with more being done in LMICs to address problems such as poor transparency, accountability, and ethical misconduct. WHO acknowledged these problems, and subsequently established the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), which enables researchers in LMICs to access trials within their own countries and globally. The ICTRP has led to the creation of clinical trial registries in many LMICs and has improved the efficiency of research by facilitating collaboration between researchers and maximising the use of scarce resources and facilities. WHO needs to continue to be a strong and vocal supporter of research in LMICs and must play a central role in influencing the agenda of major agencies that fund research to direct resources to this important and often neglected area. It is hoped that the new Director­General of WHO will give this matter high priority.