Scientific progress – and the nation’s health – depends on NIH funding growing reliably every year.
This is why we must ACT for NIH.
Our Mission
To educate about the importance of biomedical research and to make increasing biomedical research funding a national priority.
About the NIH
Credit: Lydia Polimeni, National Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health is America’s medical research agency and the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.
NIH’s investments act as an economic multiplier in local economies, set the standard for innovation and discovery across the globe, and spark scientific advances that improve the understanding, treatment, and prevention of thousands of costly and devastating diseases.
Why We ACT
Even with recent Congressional investments in NIH, less than one percent of the federal budget goes to medical research, and NIH’s purchasing power remains below what it was in 2003. If NIH funding had kept up with biomedical inflation, it would receive millions more than it does today–money that could be funding life-saving research projects.
Further, since NIH can only afford to fund one in five research proposals sent by scientists across the country, more progress could be made against more diseases, faster, if NIH had the money to invest in a greater number of projects.
Therefore, we must ACT!
Investing in NIH allows us to…
Improve and save lives
Curb future healthcare spending
Protect against international health threats
Maintain global leadership and drive the economy
Did you know?
NIH supported researchers who created COVID-19 vaccines and determined which vaccines worked, all in months, instead of years. They also developed therapies to treat COVID-19 and determined which ones worked, and which ones did not. Again, in months, rather than years. NIH also speedily developed rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19, including the home test kits millions of Americans use today. It is truly remarkable how much progress NIH was able to make to help our nation fight COVID-19 just in 2020.
By The Numbers
3.5M
NIH-led improvements in cancer treatment, detection, and prevention are among the main reasons nearly 3.5 million lives were saved from 1991-2019.
$94.2B
NIH-funded jobs, materials, and services generate approximately $94.2 billion in economic activity in 2021.
550K
NIH directly and indirectly supports more than 550,000 jobs across the country.
16,988
NIH trains the next generation of researchers through training grants and fellowships. In 2021, NIH awarded 16,988 pre- and post-doctoral full-time training positions.