IC-Health was born in 1999 as a joint program of the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR) and the WHO (NCD Cluster) to promote and prioritize resource-sensitive and context specific research addressing the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases in the developing countries.

The partnership has since expanded to represent a range of international research agencies, public health institutes and health NGOs on a global level. IC-Health also receives funding from the World Bank via GHFR. The network in future would expand further to include several agencies and institutions in the developing countries, who are involved in activities related to CVD prevention and control.