- Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 103 (October 2015 to date)
- Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,431,750,000 (October 2015 to date)
- Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date)
| Week Beginning | RFAs Issued | Total Commitment | RFAs for ME/CFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4/16 | 0 | $0 | Zero |
| 12/28/15 | 0 | $0 | Zero |
| 12/21/15 | 3 | $10,260,000 | Zero |
| 12/18/15 | 5 | $20,260,000 | Zero |
| 12/11/15 | 27 | $765,090,000 | Zero |
| 12/4/15 | 6 | $26,600,000 | Zero |
| 11/27/15 | 4 | $21,000,000 | Zero |
| 11/20/15 | 15 | $134,400,000 | Zero |
| 11/13/15 | 2 | $16,100,000 | Zero |
| 11/6/15 | 10 | $22,850,000 | Zero |
| 10/30/15 | 7 | $49,800,000 | Zero |
| 10/23/15 | 10 | $33,200,000 | Zero |
| 10/16/15 | 0 | $0 | Zero |
| 10/9/15 | 13 | $332,450,000 | Zero |
If you want more background on the RFA Ticker, read the inaugural post.
So, allow me to be a bit slow here but does this mean that there’s plenty of monies available but no one is applying for the grants? Or were none approved? Point is I need more info to get this. Or that none of the RFA’s were earmarked for ME/CFS and thus couldn’t be utilized for such? OK. Nite nite. Teehee.
It’s a complicated topic worthy of a whole separate post, but here is the basic answer to your question (I hope!). RFAs or Request for Applications are set aside funds for a specific topic. For example, an RFA for malaria vaccine development would have a set aside amount of money to be spent on successful applications in the area of malaria vaccine development. This RFA Tracker I’ve started is specifically looking at RFAs issued on any topic since October 2015, and whether any of them were for ME/CFS (nope).
Researchers can still apply for ME/CFS research funding (and do), and those grants are reviewed and go through the regular process for funding decisions. But there is no guarantee of any money being spent, whereas with an RFA there is money available. The last time ME/CFS had an RFA was 2006. Since then, applications have been tossed into the general pot. Some of those are funded, and you can look at my reviews of annual NIH spending for details on those grants.
FYI, I can’t help but think ME/CFS research funding is non-existant because of the financial liability that goes along with causation of one form of CFS.
“CDC & EPA, Cease funding ‘nonprofit’ discrimination of Mold disabled & dying……Senate HELP has been aware of the problem of the fraud in policy and the discrimination it causes of the environmentally disabled for many years. Yet, nothing has been done to stop the proliferation and usage of the scientific fraud that is so harmful to the American public and worker. [3] (Exhibit pages 49-52)….
People are experiencing chronic fatigue, multi-system/multi-symptom inflammations, and newly acquired environmental intolerances after exposure to Mold.[4] (Exhibit pages 8-11) They can get no help from US physicians, who have had it crammed down their throats by CDC funded “nonprofits” that it is proven the disabled are liars, mentally ill, and/or scammers.
https://katysexposure.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/cdc-epa-cease-funding-nonprofit-discrimination-of-mold-disabled-dying/