Health and Medical Research not considered a national priority at the political level
Monday, November 26, 2007
During the recent election campaign Research Australia* invited the Liberal and Labor parties to respond to a series of questions relating to health and medical research and, in particular, to commit to further funding and to clarify intentions regarding the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and portfolio arrangements.
Both parties espoused the virtues of health and medical research and their commitment in this area.
Yet, in response to what commitment the parties will give to ensure the current rate of growth of health and medical research funding will be continued beyond the current funding commitment to the NHMRC, neither party would give specific financial undertakings.
Likewise, in response to whether the parties would commit to increased funding for the NHMRC, from 2010-11 to reach a new base of $1.4 billion, by 2014-15, both Liberal and Labor were evasive in their answers.
It is disappointing that clearly no additional funding commitments have been provided by either party.
Given the relationship between oral health and general health, and that oral diseases are a major public health problem in Australia with a high economic burden; the ADA recently also conducted its own questionnaire which addressed funding for dental and oral research.
Whilst, both parties indicated support for dental and oral health research, of the $630 million funding granted to health and medical research in 2007, the Liberal party provided only $4.05 million to dental and oral research. Sadly, dental and oral research seems not to possess the same degree of money-magnetism as can be found with cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, asthma and many other areas of medical and pharmacological research.
Health and medical research (and oral and dental research) is still not considered to be a national priority at the political level. The ADA will however continue to lobby the Federal government to provide much more needed funding for dental research; an investment if undertaken would have a significant impact on the welfare of Australians.
* Research Australia is a national not-for-profit alliance of organisations and companies that are committed to making health and medical research a higher national priority. It is funded by membership subscriptions and donations and is independent of Government.