GHTC Report Warns Of Cuts To U.S. Global Health Funding, Provides Steps To Strengthen Global Health R&D

“According to a new report released Tuesday by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), a U.S. umbrella group, sequestration could shrink global health spending at the State Department and USAID,” as well as the National Institutes of Health, Inter Press Service reports in an article examining “the global health impact of historic, sweeping cuts to the U.S. federal budget due to go into effect Friday if Congress doesn’t act” (Biron, 2/26). The report authors “said U.S. funding has spurred a marked increase in the number of global health products over the last 10 years” and that “[t]hese developments place the movement at a critical point, particularly as U.S. policymakers face a variety of fiscal deadlines,” The Hill’s “Healthwatch” blog writes (Viebeck, 2/26).

“Across-the-board cuts to U.S. [research and development (R&D)] programs could have a devastating impact on efforts to develop new drugs for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, the world’s first malaria vaccine, and other vital global health products in development, according to [the] report,” a GHTC press release states, adding, “Taken together, the cuts throughout the government could jeopardize any number of the 200 global health products that have advanced in the research pipeline thanks to U.S. support” (2/26). “Our report provides actionable steps that Congress and the administration can take to protect global health R&D in the upcoming budget negotiations” and “also provides clear recommendations for how the U.S. government can increasingly coordinate its global health research activities — which stretch across multiple agencies, branches, and departments — around a cohesive strategy,” Kim Lufkin, the GHTC’s communications officer, writes in the coalition’s “Breakthroughs” blog (2/26).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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