Report Examines U.S. Spending on Research for Infectious Diseases, Including Malaria, TB; Calls for Increased Funding
U.S. funding for infectious disease research is insufficient to affect health outcomes significantly in developing countries, according to a report released Wednesday by Families USA, CQ HealthBeat reports. The report examines several U.S. agencies' spending on research for eight diseases: African sleeping sickness, Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, cholera, dengue, leishmaniasis, malaria and tuberculosis.
According to the report, total spending for the eight diseases was about $366 million in fiscal year 2007. NIH accounted for about 78% of total spending, the Department of Defense accounted for 12%, CDC for 6% and USAID for 4% (Johnson, CQ HealthBeat, 12/17). In addition, research for the eight diseases, which are common in about 25% of the global population, accounted for less than 1% of NIH's annual budget, the report said (Cleveland Plain-Dealer, 12/17). Of the eight diseases, only research funding for malaria and TB exceeded $100 million, and much of the remaining funding was for basic research, the report said. In addition, the report found that U.S. agencies conducted research in all categories only for dengue, leishmaniasis, malaria and TB. The report did not indicate the amount of funding needed for research in each disease, but Families USA said that information is forthcoming, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Ron Pollack, executive director for Families USA, said the report "makes clear" that U.S. funding for infectious disease research is "far too low given the enormous number of people affected by those diseases." Pollack added that government funding for NIH and CDC "has not kept pace with biomedical research inflation." Thomas Streit, director of the University of Notre Dame's Haiti Program, said research is a top U.S. export and helps drive competition and innovation worldwide. He added that infectious disease research would not only "benefit people medically and socially" but also could help prevent the "brain drain" that occurs when educated people from developing countries immigrate to wealthy nations. According to CQ HealthBeat, panelists at a November forum sponsored by Families USA and Research!America argued that the U.S. has moral and economic obligations to sustain and increase foreign assistance (CQ HealthBeat, 12/17).
The report is available online (.pdf).
