The UK's own health security depends on continued investment in global disease research

Yahoo

25-04-2025

By 2040, the £3 billion of global health research and development (R&D) funding invested by the United Kingdom since 1994 will have saved 1.43 million lives, averted 99 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and prevented 183 million cases of neglected disease.
Behind each one of the numbers is a person, a family, a community whose lives have been saved or changed for the better. We believe that as one of the richest nations in the world, the UK has an ethical responsibility to take a lead on breakthroughs in neglected diseases.
But the case for continued support and investment is much stronger than just ethical responsibility; there are widespread and measurable economic and social benefits not only in the countries where these diseases occur but in the UK itself.
On world Malaria day, a new report, by Impact Global Health in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, found that the UK directly benefits from R&D investment into diseases like malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.
It shows that the UK economy would gain an additional boost of £7.7 billion and 4,000 additional jobs by 2040 from public funding of neglected disease R&D. Some £6 billion has already been gained but around £1.5 billion, equivalent to an average of £100 million a year, is yet to be felt and is contingent on funding being sustained.
And the benefits to the UK of investment in global health do not stop there.
Covid-19, and the West African Ebola epidemic demonstrated that infections don't recognise geographic borders. Nobody is safe from future pandemics until everybody has access to effective diagnostics, drugs and treatments and robust health systems.
Put simply: the UK's own global health security depends on continued investment in this early pipeline of global health R&D.
Yet 2025 has been a challenging year for global health – with significant cuts announced to critical funding internationally and continued uncertainty about future investment. Already, many projects have been forced to pause or stop, causing a direct negative impact on the people and communities which are most in need.
In an age where there are multiple calls on government and other budgets, global health R&D could be seen, mistakenly, as an easy target. But the impact of R&D funding in the UK and across the globe should not be underestimated.
This latest research clearly shows how this funding has already significantly improved health outcomes and positively impacted individual lives and wider society. We must keep this momentum to realise these benefits into the future.
There is a very real risk that funding cuts now or in the future will reduce the impact of what has already been achieved and will lose the opportunity to develop new products, save even more lives and create even more sustained economic benefit. Any reduction in investment could rapidly unravel the substantial progress made to date, leaving future advances in life-saving interventions in jeopardy.
Now is the time for bold action to protect critical investment in this area. Every pound of funding lost will negatively impact the UK economy, make the UK more vulnerable to future pandemics, and most importantly, expose the most vulnerable communities around the world to greater health threats.
The UK has been a leader in funding and conducting research and development targeted at neglected diseases over the last two decades. Along with saving countless lives within some of the world's poorest communities, that investment has had real health and economic benefits in the UK.
Professor David Lalloo is Vice Chancellor of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Professor Liam Smeeth is Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.