I 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2144 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 3, 2011 Mr. Sires (for himself, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Ms. Moore, Mr. Honda, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Rush, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Dicks) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to codify the cooperative agreement, known as the Health Technologies program, under which the United States Agency for International Development supports the development of technologies for global health, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the 21st Century Global Health Technology Act.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1)Applied research and development is a critical component of United States leadership in global health. Research and innovation can help to break the cycle of aid dependency by providing sustainable solutions to long-term problems. Research and development for global health is crucial for meeting new and emerging challenges, creating efficiencies, strengthening health systems, shifting tasks and strengthening workforces, and increasing access to health services for the most vulnerable. Research suggests that advances in health and medical technologies have been the major drivers behind massive improvements in health worldwide over the past century, resulting in an average increase in life expectancies of 21 years in low- and middle-income countries between 1960 and 2002. (2)Because of its presence in the field, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is uniquely placed to assess local health conditions, then partner with public and private stakeholders to ensure the development and timely introduction and scale-up of tools that are culturally acceptable, address serious and all-too-common health problems, and contribute to the strengthening of health systems. In a recent report to Congress, USAID calls health research integral to its ability to achieve its health and development objectives worldwide and states that innovation through research allows the agency to develop and introduce affordable health products and practices and contribute to policies appropriate for addressing health-related concerns in the developing world. In 2006, USAID outlined a five-year health research strategy: Report to Congress: Health-Related Research and Development Activities at USAID (HRRD), May 2006, with a timeline through 2010. (3)Congress notes the interrelated initiatives that USAID has taken to advance science, technology, and innovation for development, including the Grand Development Challenges, the Innovation Fund, Development Innovation Ventures, the Development Lab, and the Innovation Fellowship. (4)Applied research and development at USAID— (A)facilitates public-private collaboration in the development of global health technologies; (B)leverages public and private sector support for early stage research and development of health technologies to encourage private sector investment in late-stage technology development and product introduction in developing countries; (C)benefits the United States economy by investing in the growing United States global health technology sector, which— (i)provides skilled jobs for American workers; (ii)creates opportunities for United States businesses in the development and production of new technologies; and (iii)enhances United States competitiveness in the increasingly technological and knowledge-based global economy; and (D)enhances United States national security by— (i)reducing the risk of pandemic disease; and (ii)contributing to economic development and stability in developing countries. (5)Investments by the United States in affordable, appropriate health technologies, such as medical devices for maternal, newborn, and child care; new vaccines; new vaccine technologies and delivery tools; safe injection devices; diagnostic tests for infectious diseases; new tools for water, sanitation, and nutrition; multipurpose prevention technologies; information systems and mobile health and information systems; and innovative disease prevention strategies— (A)reduce the risk of disease transmission; (B)accelerate access to life-saving global health interventions for the world’s poor; (C)reduce the burden on local health systems; and (D)have been found by the United States Government and the World Health Organization to result in significant cost savings for development assistance funds. (6)Product development partnerships (PDPs) are one model that is successfully accelerating research to benefit the developing world. PDPs are non-profit, nongovernmental entities that work to accelerate the development of new tools to fight diseases in resource-poor settings. Typically, PDPs manage resources and partnerships from across public, private, and philanthropic sectors to drive the development of a full pipeline of potential new products that could save and improve lives in the developing world. USAID has played a significant role in advancing the PDP model through its financial support. Over the past decade, the achievements of PDPs have become increasingly successful at advancing new products through the development pipeline towards registration, product introduction, and use. (7)Through a cooperative agreement, known as the Health Technologies program, USAID supports the development of technologies that— (A)maximize the limited resources available for global health; and (B)ensure that products and medicines developed for use in low-resource settings reach the people that need such products and medicines. Through the Health Technologies program, 85 technologies have been invented, designed, developed, or co-developed, with many of these technologies moved to global use and billions of units used worldwide. Over its 25-year history, more than 95 private-sector collaborators have been involved in the Health Technologies program, matching USAID dollars two to one.(8)USAID’s translational research is complementary to the work of other agencies: (A)The Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review (QDDR) proposes to transition leadership of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) to USAID with a target date of the end of 2012. A core principle of the GHI is Research and innovation. (B)The Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development identifies innovation as contributing to the resolution of long-standing development challenges. (C)The QDDR affirms that US leadership in science and innovation is often linked to our ability to contribute to a safer, healthier, and more stable world..

3.

Purposes

The purpose of this Act is to codify the cooperative agreement, known as the Health Technologies program, in effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act, under which the United States Agency for International Development supports the development of technologies for global health to— (1)improve global health; (2)reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality rates; (3)reverse the incidence of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases; (4)reduce the burden of chronic diseases; and (5)support research and development that is consistent with a global development strategy and other related strategies developed by USAID.

4.

Codification of Health Technologies program

Section 107 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151e) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c)

Health technologies program

(1)There is established in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) a health technologies program (referred to in this subsection as the program). (2)The program shall develop, advance, and introduce affordable, available, and appropriate and primarily late-stage technologies specifically designed to— (A)improve the health and nutrition of populations in developing countries; (B)reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality in such countries; and (C)improve the diagnosis, prevention, and reduction of disease, especially HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, in such countries. (3)The program shall be carried out under a cooperative agreement between USAID and one or more institutions with a successful record of— (A)advancing the technologies described in paragraph (2); and (B)integrating practical field experience into the research and development process in order to introduce the most appropriate technologies. (4)The provisions of this subsection codify the cooperative agreement, known as the Health Technologies program, in effect as of the date of the enactment of this subsection, under which USAID supports the development of technologies for global health. The provisions of this subsection do not establish a new cooperative agreement or program for such purposes. .

5.

Report on research and development activities at USAID

(a)

In general

The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (referred to in this subsection as USAID) shall submit to Congress an annual report on research and development activities at USAID. (b)

Matters To be included

The report required by subsection (b) shall describe— (1)updates on its strategy for using research funds to stimulate the development and introduction of key products; (2)USAID’s collaborations and coordination with other Federal departments and agencies in support of translational and applied global health research and development; (3)its investments for the fiscal year in science, technology, and innovation; (4)how these technologies and research products complement the work being done by other Federal departments and agencies, if applicable; and (5)technologies and research products that have been introduced into field trials or use.