Arthritis Advocates Lobby Congress to Fight Arthritis
Since this week has been about government money, here is one more piece of story about the lack of funding for arthritis research; this is where we need the public to step in to help shaping government policies.
More than 46 million, including 300,000 kids, have arthritis in the U.S.; however, National Institutes of Health funding amounts to less than $8 per person with arthritis. Funding for arthritis research has steadily declined since 2003. To make matters worse, federal appropriations for public health efforts to help prevent arthritis and further disability have leveled off.
The other day during lunch break, the scientists here at FlexMyJoints had a chat about government research grants. Most of us here have been in both academia and the biotech industry for more than a decade. Grant writing, ask any scientists, is a pain in the neck. It takes a tremendous effort to put together a grant application, and only a small percentage of applications receive funding. Even though science shouldn’t have politics or trends, there are certain hot areas of research. Arthritis, unfortunately, is not a life threatening disease; thus, when competing with cancer, AIDS, and other disease areas, it’s harder to receive funding. It is important for the government to realize that although arthritis is non-life threatening in most cases, arthritis is debilitating and costs the U.S. economy an unfathomable $128 billion annually.
The Arthritis Foundation will host its 11th Annual Advocacy and Kids’ Summit on Capitol Hill, March 2-4, 2009. Arthritis advocates will meet with their members of Congress to share their personal story of living with arthritis, and to let them know that more research and public health initiatives and better access to arthritis treatments are needed. The Arthritis Foundation also encourages people who cannot attend the conference to write to their representatives.
