US Investments in Global Health Technologies: Educating Congress About the Value

IDSA member, James Crowe, MD, FIDSA of Vanderbilt University spoke to Congressional staffers last week about the impact of US investments on the development of global health technologies and the returns on those investments. Crowe, who is Director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, told Congressional staff at the Global Health Technologies Coalition briefing that US investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines, and other technologies for diseases that are endemic in the US are paramount to protecting American health and security. He explained that strong investment in research and development programs is needed to keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of conducting health research. The biggest danger from insufficient funding, and a serious threat to our country, Crowe said, is the loss of intellectual capital as fewer and fewer young people go into research.

Other panelists at the GHTC congressional briefing included IDSA member, Rima Khabbaz, MD, FIDSA, Director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Andrea Liebmann-Vinson, PhD, of BD; and Sarah Pallas, PhD, an economist for the global immunization division at the CDC. IDSA is a member of the Global Health Technologies Coalition.