Investing in Global Health Research…
Can Have Sizeable Returns
Research can yield medical advances with proven results. Vaccines for polio, rubella, and measles have eliminated the threat of these diseases in the U.S. and greatly reduced their impact worldwide. From 1993 to 2002, NIH increased HIV/AIDS research spending by roughly 150 percent, resulting in a 70 percent decline in AIDS deaths from 1995 to 1999. Advances in treating or preventing diseases like TB could have dramatic returns globally and protect us here at home, too.
Will Make Our Global Aid Efforts More Effective
The United States’ global health efforts on the ground accomplish a great deal, and these efforts are made possible by medical research.
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has provided HIV/AIDS antiretroviral treatments, developed through NIH research, to more than 1 million people worldwide. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has used TB treatment delivery systems developed through research to improve treatment success in 39 countries. Research conducted and funded by U.S. agencies has also led to improvements in bed nets, anti-malarial drugs, and other prevention strategies that have helped more than 6 million people in Africa through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).
Will Give Us Better Tools for the Future
The treatments we deliver today won’t be effective forever. The current TB vaccine has limited effectiveness, and malaria is becoming treatment resistant in areas around the globe. Antiretroviral resistance is also increasing. In order to address these global health threats and improve the lives of millions, we need to develop new, more effective tools through medical research.
Plays to Our Nation’s Strengths
The U.S. is a leader in medical and scientific innovation. Our government research agencies reflect that. NIH is the leading biomedical research center in the world. CDC staff in 46 countries around the world assist governments in disease surveillance and prevention and conduct clinical trials that test medical interventions. Investing in their work is investing in one of the things America does best.
