Families USA's Global Health Initiative advocates for U.S. policies that advance global health research, with the goal of developing medical technologies to improve global health.
July 1, 2008
In This Issue:
Policy
1. Funding for NIH in Supplemental Appropriations Bill
2. House and Senate Budget Activity
3. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Stalled
News and Reports
4. New Report from Families USA – In Your Own Backyard: How NIH Funding Helps Your State’s Economy
5. Fighting for Federal Funds to Combat Tuberculosis
6. Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases and Global Alliance for TB Drug Development Announce Five-Year Collaboration Targeted to Accelerate TB Treatment R&D
7. Immune Design Raises $18 million
8. Diseases Plaguing Poorer Nations Infect Growing Numbers in U.S.
Events
9. U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program’s 43rd Annual Tuberculosis and Leprosy Conference
10. Committee on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health
Policy
1. Funding for NIH in Supplemental Appropriations Bill
On June 27, the Congress presented to the President for his signature a fiscal year (FY) 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Bill that included $150 million for health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $400 million for health research in general. The funds are not a lot compared to the operating budgets of this agency, but it does show that Congress supports NIH and its mission of improving domestic and global health through research.
2. House and Senate Budget Activity
On June 26, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2009 appropriation for Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS), which includes the budget for NIH. In the bill, NIH was allocated $30 billion, a $1.1 billion increase over the FY 2008 funding level.
The full House Appropriations Committee was planning to consider its version of the LHHS Appropriations bill on June 26, which would include $125 million more for NIH as compared with Senate version. However, committee proceedings were disrupted when Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and other Republicans tried to force consideration of the Department of Interior funding bill (including amendments to permit increased drilling for oil and gas), in lieu of considering the LHHS bill.
3. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Stalled
On June 27, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) blocked passage of a bill that would provide $50 billion over five years for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The bill includes provisions for funding treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis for the neediest around the world, and also includes provisions to develop new medical tools to combat these three diseases. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said that he will try again later this month to get the bill passed
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News and Reports
4. New Report from Families USA–In Your Own Backyard: How NIH Funding Helps Your State’s Economy
This new report from Families USA finds that the benefits of NIH-funded research go beyond their health impact, delivering thousands of high-paying jobs and billions of dollars worth of business activity to state economies nationwide. To read the report, click here.
5. Fighting for Federal Funds to Combat Tuberculosis
Fighting for Federal Funds to Combat Tuberculosis (The Mercury News, June 20, 2008)
Regarding the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding, Congressman Mike Honda writes, “Keeping our county healthy is a big enough battle for our health officials without having to also worry about rationing funds. Just like rationing antibiotics can be lethal to a patient, rationing critical preventive funds is dangerous for the health of a community.” To read the article, click here.
6. Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases and Global Alliance for TB Drug Development Announce Five-Year Collaboration Targeted to Accelerate TB Treatment R&D
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases and Global Alliance for TB Drug Development announce five-year collaboration targeted to accelerate TB treatment R&D (The Boston Globe, June 24, 2008)
To read the press release, click here.
7. Immune Design Raises $18 million
Immune Design Raises $18 million (Seattlepi.com, June 23, 2008)
A new Seattle-based startup takes on the vaccine challenge: “to both develop new vaccines and improve the effectiveness of existing ones,” the article says. To read the article, click here.
8. Diseases Plaguing Poorer Nations Infect Growing Numbers in U.S.
Diseases Plaguing Poorer Nations Infect Growing Numbers in U.S. (Bloomberg, June 24, 2008)
What would you say if millions of people in the U.S. were infected with preventable diseases found in the world’s poorest countries? Would you believe it? Peter Hotez, chairman of microbiology at the George Washington University, released a study addressing the many infectious diseases affecting the poorest people within our own borders. To read more about Hotez’s study, click here.
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9. US-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program's 43rd Annual Tuberculosis and Leprosy Conference
Conference: July 8-10, 2008
Diagnostics Workshop: Development and Regulatory Issues: July 11, 2008
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland
Local Host: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
For more information, click here.
10. Committee on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health
This will be the second public committee meeting of the Committee on the U.S. Commitment to Global Health at the Keck Center of the National Academies
Date: July 21, 2008
Leading up to the July meeting, the committee working groups will hold three public meetings:
1. June 10: Working group meeting on human resources for health in low- and middle-income countries
2. June 26: Working group meeting on U.S. engagement in global health governance
3. July 7: Working group meeting on gaps and priorities in U.S. contributions to global disease challenges
For more information and to RSVP, please click here.
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Have you lived or worked in a developing country? Have you witnessed the hardships and struggles of communities living with illness and without treatment? Or perhaps you fell ill while abroad? Whatever your global health story is, we want to know it. Click here to tell us your story.
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