Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Neglected-Disease Research Funding Hits Record High (nature.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

Reader schwit1 shares a report: Research funding for diseases that predominantly affect people living in poverty hit a record high in 2017, according to a report released on 23 January by Policy Cures Research, a global-health think tank in Sydney, Australia. At US$3.6 billion, investments into 'neglected' diseases were higher than in any year since 2007. A surge from 2016 to 2017 included a rise in funding to fight neglected diseases generally, as opposed to targeting individual maladies.

Anna Doubell, director of research at Policy Cures Research, says that the launch of several trials testing new Ebola drugs, diagnostics and vaccines in response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa between 2014 and 2016 might be giving donors hope that investments into neglected diseases pay off. "The amount of progress made in a short period of time after the Ebola outbreak might have brought in optimism about what is possible," Doubell says.

37 comments

  1. Most of this research gets done by the gov't by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    I've got family saved by medicine and all of it was developed in Europe. We've been in "Austerity" mode since 2008.... for working class folk of course. I just saw a news story the New Jersey approved a $750 million dollar subsidy package for Amazon on the same day they vetoed a minimum wage hike....

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Most of this research gets done by the gov't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just saw a news story the New Jersey approved a $750 million dollar subsidy package for Amazon

      It would take more than that to get me to move to New Jersey.

    2. Re: Most of this research gets done by the gov't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahahahahahaha. I heard of a company that offered nothing to get amazon but told amazon that they had a vast labor pool. It was probably the same people who told the press Donald trump peed on soviet hookers

    3. Re: Most of this research gets done by the gov't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was probably the same people who told the press Donald trump peed on soviet hookers

      Did you hear Putin's response to that claim? It was something like, "A billionaire like Trump doesn't need to pay for hookers. But if he did, Russia has the best."

      Made me LMFAO. Putin is awesome. Even if he is a KGB thug.

  2. self preservation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    when your faced with a deadly virus self preservation becomes foremost.

  3. 11,000 deaths from Ebola by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/case-counts.html

    17.9 million people worldwide die from heart disease each year.

    1. Re:11,000 deaths from Ebola by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the heart disease deaths are mostly self-inflicted. Getting all the fat fucks to lay off the pizza and donuts is pretty much a lost cause, they don't want to be cured. Might as well concentrate on what is actually achievable.

  4. Doctors can't even diagnose heart attacks correctl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in first world countries!

    https://www.theglobeandmail.co...

    Fix your shit here first, dummies!

  5. Re:Propaganda? by OwP_Fabricated · · Score: 1

    Don't post anymore, thanks.

  6. I'd guess that some challanges are easier by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    Getting rid of diseases born by mosquitoes and creating proper sanitation (clean water is great too) would clear up all the malaria and cholera deaths for a start.

    1. Re:I'd guess that some challanges are easier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're talking about Republicans, the most neglected disease of all.

    2. Re:I'd guess that some challanges are easier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK I'll run down this analogy road with you: Neglected because Republicans are benign in comparison to Socialists. Socialism has caused over 100 million deaths.

    3. Re:I'd guess that some challanges are easier by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Informative

      An ebola outbreak can be stopped dead in its tracks with soap and hand sanitizer.

      I support medical research, but poor countries mostly need education and better public health measures.

      Clean water makes a huge difference. But electricity makes a huge difference too. Electric cooking and lighting removes soot from indoor air, relieving respiratory problems, allows students to read and study later, and saves money that people otherwise spent on fuel. Electric pumps make the clean water easier to achieve.

      Decentralized electricity based on solar panels is making a big difference in poor countries.
       

    4. Re: I'd guess that some challanges are easier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Total socialist population: 1.9 billion. Democratic population: 4.8 billion so you can be sure that democracy kills way more people than socialism. Shall I start with the complete wipeout of indigenous population of USA? Or maybe I should mention the millions of slaves dead on the plantations? Pathetic

  7. Re:Propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    His wording is designed to mislead you into thinking that most medicines are developed in Europe. That is patently false. We've been in "austerity mode" since 2008. Again, false. what we've been in is "no longer throwing money at defense contractors" mode. And "subsidy" is deliberately misleading, as New Jersey has malicious taxes that have run off employers. This "subsidy" package merely gets New Jersey taxes somewhat closer to normal tax rates in 45/50 states.

    Yeah, it's leftist bullshit, and you believe it to.

  8. Austerity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Austerity is limiting federal spending to be equal or less than tax revenue. Which country is in Austerity since 2008? I'm calling you a liar because I suspect that there is no such country.

    1. Re: Austerity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      United Fucking Kingdom

  9. Goodbye, Roger Stone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Infantile unemployed Fox-uneducated moron discovers the word 'leftist,' runs with it like small dog with rope. News at 11 after our in-flight movie, 'There's something about Putin'"

  10. It's a scarily low number by amorsen · · Score: 2

    According to the graph, the number jumps up and down a bit but does not have a clear trend. Considering how many people are affected and have their lives and their chances to contribute to society ruined by these diseases, it is a very low number. The EU alone spends 30 times that on agricultural subsidies, with unclear benefits.

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    1. Re:It's a scarily low number by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The benefits become instantly clear when you compare the name of the main recipients with the name of politicians.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  11. More like diseases that hit poor countries. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AFAIK Ebola didn't care much how much money you had in the countries it hit. It's just that it hit in countries that were poor, had bad hygenic practices of the family washing the infected body, and had poor education about disease in general.

    Saying these diseases infect people living in poverty makes it sound like Cholera, or Ebola are rampant in poor parts of developed countries, which they aren't.

    1. Re:More like diseases that hit poor countries. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Diseases also don't care about borders. Or whether you're rich or poor when you get into contact with it.

      That's why there's research in them.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:More like diseases that hit poor countries. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      AFAIK Ebola didn't care much how much money you had in the countries it hit.

      Yes it does. Ebola hits the poor much harder. Rich people are generally literate, understand the germ theory of disease, have cell phones, and own soap. They quickly learn how the disease spreads, and then wash their hands so they don't get it. It took much longer to convince the poor to practice basic sanitation.

      The 2014 outbreak started in the Guinea highlands, and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, which all have very low literacy rates. It did not spread to Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, or any other country with literacy rates over 40%.

      Ebola thrives on poverty and ignorance.

    3. Re:More like diseases that hit poor countries. by Thelasko · · Score: 1

      Diseases also don't care about borders. Or whether you're rich or poor when you get into contact with it.

      That's not really true. If you are rich, you are much less likely to come in contact with many of these diseases in the first place. Part of the misunderstanding is what being rich means.

      Do you sleep on a dirt floor that might harbor diseases?
      Do you cook over an open wood fire that releases toxic gases?
      Does your home lack proper doors and windows making it constantly infested with rodents and insects?
      Is your water contaminated with human waste?
      Do you come in contact with human waste on a regular basis?


      If you said no to these questions, congratulations, you are rich! You have access to the basic things to keep yourself healthy. If you can afford to go to the doctor and purchase generic drugs, you are even better off!

      --
      One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    4. Re:More like diseases that hit poor countries. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      While true, the problem remains that being rich around here still means you outlive someone being poor around here by almost a decade. Of course, if you compare it to hellholes with an infrastructure we have surpassed a century ago, you will find there the life expectancy we had a century ago. That's a given.

      But we also have a gap here. Where we claim to be developed and have the relevant infrastructure in place.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  12. Alternative Solution by Thelasko · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Another way to get rid of diseases that predominately affect people living in poverty is to get people out of poverty.

    Despite there being no cure for Ebola, there's an 82% survival rate for cases in the United States. In Africa, the survival rate is only 50%, and the disease spreads much more rapidly.

    You'd be surprised how many diseases can be prevented with basic hygiene practices, and how many diseases can be treated with basic drugs.

    Plumbers save more lives than doctors. Don't take them for granted.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
    1. Re:Alternative Solution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Plumbers save more lives than doctors. Don't take them for granted.

      I like that quote. And very true.

      In construction, the most important things are where the water comes from and where it goes when you're done with it. Everything else is secondary.

      The patient has flatlined! Nurse, get me a pipe wrench!!

  13. Goodbye, Roger Stone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Infantile and unemployed Fox-educated treasonous coaltard moron discovers the word leftist, runs with it like small dog with rope. News at 11 after film"

  14. Bah, humbug by TimothyHollins · · Score: 2

    There's usually good reason that "neglected" diseases are neglected. It can be because they are incredibly rare, or as with the more common ones, that they proliferate because of factors not related to the disease.

    Ebola is a case of "stupidity". An infection in the western world would be (and has on multiple occasions been) dealt with quickly and effectively by simple safety precautions. This is why doctors and nurses rarely get sick when working in the epidemic area. Isolation and basic sanitary procedures is all it takes to halt and stop an outbreak. This is the kind of solution that works in a society that works.
    On the other hand, if patients flee the hospital because of rumors, if patients go to a witch-doctor instead of a doctor, and if patients ignore the isolation clause and go back to unsanitary living on top of other people (with bodily fluids spraying left and right), then Ebola will quickly becomes a very serious and national problem.

    The biggest reduction in Ebola mortality will come about when the disease is treated with reason and rationality by the at-risk population, at which point epidemics can be reduced to individual cases that swiftly pass.

    With all that said, I certainly hope that an effective treatment and/or vaccination can be found. I just don't believe that resources are better spent on diseases that can be effectively dealt with already by proper hygiene and sanitation.

  15. "Socialism has caused over 100 million deaths" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Republican traitor confuses heart disease with Socialism during stroke, news at 11AM in the old traitors' home."

    1. Re:"Socialism has caused over 100 million deaths" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What did it feel like when you failed the Turing test?

    2. Re:"Socialism has caused over 100 million deaths" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It felt like your mom's vaginal walls being scraped with a cheese grater, Republican traitor, and then the resulting flesh sprinkled over Putin's pasta by his chef.

  16. I stand corrected :) by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    see here. Never been so happy to be wrong in my life.

    Now if we can only take back the $750 million dollar subsidy to an already profitable company...

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  17. But Sweden... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Currently, only the United States and the United Kingdom even approach that goal set by the World Health Organization’s Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property...

    The biggest change in 2017 was that funders put more money into research on drugs, vaccines and other technologies that combat a range of diseases at once... Funders invested a total of $382 million into these activities — a 51% increase over 2016 that was largely driven by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington.

    I thought Sweden has the best socialized medicine in the world, yet it's the US that's leading the way. Oh, and the suggested 90% tax on wealthy people? Yea, let's go after them too.

  18. SOCK PUPPET ALERT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    udachny is a sock puppet of roman_mir. the latter uses the former to try to convince more people that the foundational principles of his cult are righteous and sane. they both often post at -1 (and have their postings limited here on slashdot) because they have poor karma scores here as a result of repeated abusive behavior and their consistent religious proselytizing that is seldom on topic with the discussion thread.