Publication of new research investments paper in The Lancet Global Health
The Research Investments in Global Health (ResIn) study is delighted to announce the publication of its new research investments paper in The Lancet Global Health.
Researchers from the University of Southampton from the Faculty of Medicine, including Dr Michael Head, Dr Rebecca Brown, Dr Marie-Louise Newell and Dr James Batchelor, have collaborated in this study. It describes in detail $105 billion of funding for infectious disease research across 2000-2017.
Of particular relevance to the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper shows that research funding is reactive to public health emergencies, so money follows outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, Coronaviruses with very little in the way of proactive horizon scanning. Thus clear evidence/lessons there for how policymakers could move forward from here (e.g. push pandemic planning further up the research agenda).
Their research also shows what diseases are relatively well funded compared to their burden of disease and so highlight clearly under-funded areas, which include pneumonia, scabies and syphilis. There has been a broad decline in funding for infectious disease research since 2011, despite large sums being awarded for research on Zika and Ebola during and after the respective public health emergencies. Around 11% of the funding has a focus on low- and lower-middle income countries. The USA (and in particular the US NIH) is by far the biggest funder.
The discussion points from their paper are for all the global health community to come together to consider (so not intended as a blame point for funders or any other stakeholder). With there being limited resources to spend on all health research, it is vital that funding is distributed as equitably as possible, and there are many factors that influence funding decisions. Their data can help to underpin and inform decision-making and priority-setting.