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Policy report asks for more US government involvement in global health research and development
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The Global Health Technologies Coalition released their annual policy report during a briefing last week in Washington, D.C. The report discusses the effects of cuts resulting from a sequestration, recommends budgets for federal health programs, and urges federal officials to become more involved in global health research and development, according to a press release from the group that represents more than 30 non-profit organizations.
An agreement signed into law earlier this year relieved sequestration cuts that resulted from failed federal spending negotiations in March 2013. The cuts significantly affected health programs across the government.
Despite the agreement, the NIH budget for 2014, while $1 billion above its 2013 post-sequester funding, was $950 million less than its 2012 budget. Funding for the NIH has decreased by 22% since 2003, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.
The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) report states that budget cuts resulting from the sequestration had a serious impact on global health research and development, and emphasizes the crucial role the United States plays in global health research and development. Between 2000 and 2010, the US government was involved in more than half of the vaccines, drugs, diagnostic tools, and devices developed to address global health issues. The report linked US funding to 200 of the 365 global health products within the research and development pipeline.
The GHTC recommends a budget of $464 million for the CDC’s Center of Global Health; $445 million for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; a 2015 budget of $4.7 billion for the FDA; $32 billion for the NIH; and $10.4 billion for global health programs at the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development.
Regarding policy, the report suggests expanding the FDA’s role in product development. The GHTC urges government officials to play a stronger role within the World Health Assembly, an organization that develops and funds global health demonstration projects. Global health research should be a prominent concept in the Sustainable Development Goals, which is being drafted to replace the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, according to the policy report.
“For generations, the United States government has invested in the lifesaving potential of research and innovation, supporting discoveries that have changed the face of public health around the world. The United States will lose its lead in global health development if continued support isn’t maintained. There are still millions of people who are still at risk for infectious diseases and health conditions for which current tools are inefficient or simply do not exist,” GHTC’s Coalition Director, Kaitlin Christensen, MPH, said during the briefing.
The goal of GHTC is to increase awareness of the need for technologies — like vaccines, microbicides, devices and others — that save lives in the developing world. The coalition is housed at PATH and is funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.