NIH issued one RFA last week, for cellular therapies to treat radiation injuries. In that one RFA, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases committed $4 million for FY 2018. The maximum project length is five years, although future appropriations will determine funding levels past FY 2018.
Why am I pointing this out? Because this is twice the level of commitment that NIAID is making to the ME/CFS RFAs. Understand this. The science of cellular treatments for radiation exposures is more advanced than the science of ME/CFS, such that $4 million is being allocated for this narrow RFA. And NIAID is investing half as much in the ME/CFS RFAs which are intended to build a major infrastructure piece of our entire field.
We have a very very long way to go, friends.
Here are the current cumulative RFA numbers:
| FY 2017 | FY 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| RFAs Issued | 129 | 352 |
| Dollars Committed | $754,557,563 | $2,840,680,617 |
| RFAs for ME/CFS | TWO | ZERO |
And here is the table for FY 2017 alone:
| Week Beginning | RFAs Issued | Total Commitment | RFAs for ME/CFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/6/17 | 1 | $4,000,000 | Zero |
| 1/30/17 | 1 | $10,000,000 | Zero |
| 1/23/17 | 4 | $14,250,000 | TWO |
| 1/16/17 | 2 | $45,600,000 | Zero |
| 1/9/17 | 0 | 0 | Zero |
| 1/2/17 | 1 | $43,000,000 | Zero |
| 12/26/16 | 0 | 0 | Zero |
| 12/19/16 | 2 | $10,000,000 | Zero |
| 12/12/16 | 28 | $125,950,000 | Zero |
| 12/5/16 | 14 | $114,800,000 | Zero |
| 11/28/16 | 10 | $47,660,000 | Zero |
| 11/21/16 | 6 | $42,780,000 | Zero |
| 11/14/16 | 6 | $44,350,000 | Zero |
| 11/7/16 | 10 | $25,490,563 | Zero |
| 10/31/16 | 4 | $26,550,000 | Zero |
| 10/24/16 | 10 | $53,400,000 | Zero |
| 10/17/16 | 17 | $94,890,000 | Zero |
| 10/10/16 | 1 | $28,750,00 | Zero |
| 10/3/16 | 9 | $23,087,00 | Zero |
If you want more background on the RFA Ticker, read the inaugural post.
Easy to get discouraged, isn’t it – while they will be touting the ‘millions of dollars dedicated to ME/CFS research,’ when you know exactly what level of commitment it isn’t.
I hope that some researcher out there realizes the FAME and adulation and love there will be for him/her and their research team when they finally find the answer.
Hope THEY don’t get discouraged before they get to the finish line.
We are NOT being taken seriously. The money promised is peanuts.
In this time of so many horrors, we need more empathy from the public. Empathy comes from fiction, from movies like The Philadelphia Story (for AIDS) with big star Tom Hanks.
I’m repeating myself.
We are not seen as deserving, by the NIH OR the public.
Thank you, Jennie. I know this is hard to have to read and then write.
I feel like, to quote Yogi Berra, “This is deja vu all over again.”
Jennie, I love reading your posts!!! We so appreciate that you have a mind for this type of information & use it to help all of us!!
What would you think of adding a column for Total Dollar Amount Committed to ME/CFS? The dollar amount committed is important, just like the number of RFAs.
BRILLIANT idea! I’m glad you thought of it! I will add this to the next Ticker. Thank you for the suggestion!