In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.
A new analysis by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, finds that global health funding accounts for about one quarter of one percent of the total US federal budget. These programs help fight diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and neglected tropical diseases.
As a result sequestration, TB research at federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Agency for International Development has been reduced significantly.
The number of approvals for drug treatments targeting neglected diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria has increased in recent years, but research and development spending has leveled off, according to a report from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.
Trevor Mundel, president of the Global Health Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, examines how innovative financing can help spur global health research and product development.
Reps. Ted Poe (R-TX) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA)—along with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD)—have introduced companion bills that aim to improve the accountability and transparency of US foreign assistance programs.