Advocates urge US to maintain global health funds

The United States must maintain its investments in global health despite the threat of sequestration and calls for deficit reduction, advocates said Tuesday.

A coalition of global health nonprofit organizations said U.S. funding has spurred a marked increase in the number of global health products over the last ten years.

These developments place the movement at a critical point, particularly as U.S. policymakers face a variety of fiscal deadlines, the advocates said in a new report.

"Health research breakthroughs serve a remarkable humanitarian purpose and reap domestic rewards by creating U.S. jobs, spurring business activity, and engaging a range of partners," the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) said in the report.

"Cutting funding for global health and [research and development] programs would barely make a dent in reducing the U.S. federal deficit but would have a crippling impact on people's health and lives around the world."

The coalition called on policymakers to direct more focus toward neglected diseases, including creating a new office within the Food and Drug Administration office to coordinate related activities.

Read more from the report here.

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