Alrighty then. Last week? NIH issued more than $128 MILLION in RFAs. NIH has broken the $2.3 billion mark for Fiscal Year 2015.
So the same week we found out about activist Tom Jarrett’s suicide? Diseases that are not ME (like diabetes and Alzheimer’s) made out like gangbusters in NIH RFAs.
Later today, I will be participating in a meeting with Acting Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Karen DeSalvo. One of our goals is to convey the urgency of the ME public health crisis. NIH and the rest of Health and Human Services needs to step up and do more, do it faster, do it better. We’re dying out here.
- Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 267 (October 2015 to date)
- Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $2,352,047,617 (October 2015 to date)
- Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date)
| Week Beginning | RFAs Issued | Total Commitment | RFAs for ME/CFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/25/16 | 5 | $128,556,617 | Zero |
| 7/18/16 | 3 | $17,950,000 | Zero |
| 7/11/16 | 10 | $75,855,000 | Zero |
| 7/4/16 | 0 | $0 | Zero |
| 6/27/16 | 3 | $12,971,000 | Zero |
| 6/20/16 | 1 | $2,000,000 | Zero |
| 6/13/16 | 5 | $21,475,000 | Zero |
| 6/6/16 | 5 | $7,100,000 | Zero |
| 5/30/16 | 4 | $6,900,000 | Zero |
| 5/23/16 | 8 | $42,400,000 | Zero |
| 5/16/16 | 2 | $7,800,000 | Zero |
| 5/9/16 | 11 | $32,100,000 | Zero |
| 5/2/16 | 8 | $32,485,000 | Zero |
| 4/25/16 | 4 | $7,500,000 | Zero |
| 4/18/16 | 10 | $42,230,000 | Zero |
| 4/18/16 | 10 | $42,230,000 | Zero |
| 4/11/16 | 4 | $6,825,000 | Zero |
| 4/4/16 | 8 | $27,000,000 | Zero |
| 3/28/16 | 13 | $161,000,000 | Zero |
| 3/21/16 | 1 | $2,700,000 | Zero |
| 3/14/16 | 5 | $23,650,000 | Zero |
| 3/7/16 | 9 | $82,710,000 | Zero |
| 2/29/16 | 1 | $1,890,000 | Zero |
| 2/22/16 | 9 | $30,100,000 | Zero |
| 2/15/16 | 4 | $26,500,000 | Zero |
| 2/8/16 | 5 | $9,500,000 | Zero |
| 2/1/16 | 8 | $26,000,000 | Zero |
| 1/25/16 | 4 | $9,300,000 | Zero |
| 1/18/16 | 2 | $4,500,000 | Zero |
| 1/11/16 | 10 | $71,200,000 | Zero |
| 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.
Thank you for the updates — excellent idea — concisely puts our situation in perspective.
Thinking of your group’s meeting today — I am confident you will all be great!! Let’s hope they will listen carefully and take the suicides seriously.
Jennie, continuing thanks for keeping us all up to date. And am full of admiration that somehow you can find the energy–and hopefulness–to help organize and participate in a meeting like this–hope it proves fruitful!
Thank you very much, we appreciate your effort for us!
Hearkening back to the days of Pharaoh and pyramids, NIH seems to want us to make bricks without straw. Hope that changes soon.
Just came across a book (not read yet) by Candace Pert, who was for many years a top brain researcher at the NIH who narrowly missed a Nobel Prize, which seems to spend a significant number of its pages detailing what life at the NIH was like–seems it was not a totally peaceful and happy kingdom–surprise, surprise. Unfortunately it was written in 1997, but it may be worth a look for its insights into that giant enterprise, quite apart from its interest as one researcher’s look at the brain/body interface.
I looked, found her website and ran across this book list. The one from 1997 doesn’t give any hint to it being about the NIH, but I guess it was put in there. Sadly it says she passed in 2013. Sounds like an interesting read!
The Science of Golf and Life eBook (2013)
Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel The Way You Feel (Scribner, New York,1997)
Molecules of Emotion (Paperback): The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1999)
Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d (Hay House, 2006)
Horrah! Tell them loudly and clearly. Look forward to hearing what happened at the meeting. Thanks for stretching yourself to go!
Bobbi A.
Keep up the pressure – letting up will only let them off the hook.
Thanks for representing us! It’s appreciated and so needed.
And very sad about Tom Jarrett. I didn’t know of him until I just read the post about him and the comments. What a loss to his family, friends and the ME/CFS community.
Thank you, Jennie, for continuing to bear witness in your blog to this ongoing disaster.
I hope your meeting went well!