Strengthening the United States Government's Role in Product Development for Global Health

U.S. government investment in developing vaccines, drugs, and other tools to combat neglected diseases and conditions has reached its lowest level since 2007, excluding emergency funds provided to combat the Ebola outbreak.  At the same time, the U.S. government remains the largest funder of global health research and development (R&D), supplying three-quarters of all government funding worldwide, which supports activities carried out by multiple government agencies and programs and through private sector, academic, and nonprofit partners. These activities are vital to generating new and improved technologies to fight the world’s deadliest diseases and prevent global epidemics.

Reversing this decline in US investment and advancing policy solutions to build new partnerships, leverage expertise, and encourage investment from all sectors, will save lives and increase economic opportunity in low- and middle-income countries, while also creating jobs and boosting the U.S. economy, says a team from the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) and DGHI’s Center for Policy Impact in Global Health.