Sa Research Grants Potentially On Hold, Says Leaked Nih Memo
A leaked memo for grant management staff of the US governments National Institutes of Health NIH, dated March 25, instructs officers to hold all research awards to entities located in South Africa.
Some experts estimate that as much as 70 of South Africas medical research, or up to 400-million about R7.2-billion, is funded through the NIH.
The latest NIH memo lists South Africa, along with China, as a country of concern, saying it is the policy of the NIH not to prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion research programmes, gender identity, vaccine hesitancy, climate change or countries of concern, e.g. China or South Africa.
Bhekisisa has sent a request for comment to the NIH to confirm when, and if, the memo will come into effect. We will update the story once weve received a response.
In todays newsletter , Mia Malan explains a leaked memo from the US governments National Institutes of Health NIH, listing South Africa as a country of concern. Sign up for our newsletter today.
A leaked memo for grant management staff of the US governments National Institutes of Health NIH, dated March 25 and of which Bhekisisa has seen a copy, instructs officers to hold all research awards to entities located in South Africa.
The confidential memo, labelled draft, states that it replaces a previous document sent on February 13 and explains which research grants to terminate.
Some experts estimate that as much as 70 of South Africas medical research, or up to 400-million about R7.2-billion when both direct and subgrants are considered for the past financial year, is funded through the NIH, which is made up of 27 institutes and centres that each focus on a specific area of research.
The NIH finances as much as 88 of biomedical research worldwide, according to the World RePORT , which tracks research funding.