NIH to Halt Funding for Foreign Research: A Blow to Global Health

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is set to implement a policy temporarily halting funding for labs and hospitals outside the US. This move threatens thousands of global health projects and international collaborations, particularly in areas like emerging infectious diseases and cancer research. The policy could impact approximately 15% of NIH grants, affecting collaborations with countries including the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia. Critics argue this short-sighted decision will lead to preventable deaths and hinder progress in critical research areas like cancer, due to the loss of crucial international data and expertise.