H.R. 3560

21st Century Global Health Technology Act

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I

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3560

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 14, 2009

Mr. Sires (for himself, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Cohen, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Smith of Washington, and Mr. Payne) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to establish the Health Technology Program in the United States Agency for International Development to research and develop technologies to improve 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)

The United States has committed to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals of—

(A)

reducing child mortality;

(B)

improving maternal health; and

(C)

combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

(2)

The goals described in paragraph (1) cannot be reached without health technologies and devices to diagnose infectious diseases and reduce disease transmission.

(3)

The development, advancement, and introduction of affordable and appropriate technologies are essential to efforts by the United States to reduce deaths among the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly children and women in the developing world.

(4)

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine on the commitment of the United States to global health—

(A)

recommends that United States institutions share existing knowledge to address prevalent health problems in low- and middle-income countries;

(B)

recommends continued support for partnerships between the public and private sectors to develop and deliver health products in low- and middle-income countries; and

(C)

urges the United States Government to continue its support for innovative research models to address unmet health needs in poor countries.

(5)

Investments by the United States in affordable, appropriate health technologies, such as medical devices for maternal and child care, vaccine delivery tools, safe injection devices, diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, and innovative disease prevention strategies—

(A)

reduce the risk of disease transmission; and

(B)

accelerate access to life-saving global health interventions for the world’s poor.

(6)

Through a cooperative agreement, known as the Technologies for Health program (referred to in this section as HealthTech), 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.

(7)

The HealthTech cooperative agreement—

(A)

facilitates public-private collaboration in the development of global health technologies;

(B)

leverages public 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; and

(ii)

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.

3.

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to authorize a health technology development program that supports coordinated, long-term research and development of appropriate global health technologies—

(1)

to improve global health;

(2)

to reduce maternal and child mortality rates; and

(3)

to reverse the incidence of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

4.

Establishment of the Health Technology 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 Technology Program

(1)

There is established in the United States Agency for International Development (referred to in this section as USAID) the Health Technology Program, which shall—

(A)

coordinate and lead research and development efforts;

(B)

be funded by USAID on a competitive basis; and

(C)

serve as a national laboratory and technology development program for global health.

(2)

The Health Technology Program shall develop, advance, and introduce affordable, available, and appropriate technologies specifically designed—

(A)

to improve the health and nutrition of developing country populations;

(B)

to reduce maternal and child mortality; and

(C)

to improve the diagnosis, prevention and reduction of disease, especially HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other major diseases.

(3)

The Health Technology Program shall be located at an institution 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 Administrator of USAID, in collaboration with the Health Technology Program, shall submit an annual report to Congress and all relevant Federal agencies that describes—

(A)

the relevant activities of the Health Technology Program that are in the incubation phase;

(B)

the progress made on such activities and on other projects carried out through the Health Technology Program; and

(C)

the outlook for future health technology efforts evaluated by the Health Technology Program to have significant growth potential.

(5)

There are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to carry out the Health Technology Program under this subsection.

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