Telling Our Story: How America and the World Benefits from Global Health Research Collaboration

May 29, 2025

By Fogarty International Center Acting Director Dr. Peter Kilmarx 

In his 1959 New York Times article “The Universal Republic,” Dr. Howard A. Rusk praised Congressman John E. Fogarty’s "Health for Peace" bill, which would create within NIH a new “National Institute of International Medical Research” with an annual appropriation of $50 million. Writing during the Cold War, Rusk argued that science could serve as neutral ground for collaboration across ideological divides and that Fogarty’s legislation exemplified this principle. By supporting medical research abroad, the bill recognized that disease knows no borders and that American health and security are strengthened through global engagement. More than six decades later, that insight remains profoundly relevant.

Read recent commentary on global health research issues from current and immediate past directors of the Fogarty International Center.

Several new Fogarty resources illustrate why global health research is not only an act of scientific solidarity but also a strategic investment in the health and well-being of the American public. These online materials offer updated evidence, data, and case studies that demonstrate how Fogarty’s work and NIH’s global research enterprise more broadly support U.S. health priorities, strengthen the domestic research ecosystem, and enhance our readiness for emerging health threats. As the Acting Director of the Fogarty International Center, I‘m pleased to share them with you.

The web page, “Fogarty’s Impact in the United States,” describes how our international collaborations directly benefit Americans. These include developing low-cost diagnostics for early cancer detection, testing interventions to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease in highest-risk populations abroad, and bringing a novel treatment for a life-threatening pediatric condition developed in Africa back to the United States. The page reports metrics from fiscal year 2024 showing that 77% of Fogarty’s 488 grants involved U.S. individuals or institutions. These awards supported research and training programs that contributed to nearly 1,400 publications and strengthened global research capacity in ways that amplify the U.S. scientific enterprise.

Another new resource, “Fogarty’s Impact: Facts, Numbers, and Stories,” offers a more comprehensive look at the Center’s contributions over time. Since its founding in 1968, Fogarty has supported over 8,500 scientists from 132 countries, many of whom now hold senior positions in academia, government, and public health institutions around the world. Through sustained investment in people and partnerships, we have helped build the infrastructure for global discovery science and enabled U.S. scientists and institutions to remain at the cutting edge of international research. To further support communication efforts, we also released five new two-page fact sheets, each summarizing a key aspect of Fogarty’s impact. These printable documents highlight the Center’s role in research on non-communicable diseases, addressing childhood obesity in the Americas, using technology and innovation to improve health care, and the importance of advancing bioethics research capacity. They offer concise, non-technical language supported by visuals and data.

An additional resource broadens the lens to the full NIH enterprise. “How Global Scientific Advances Can Benefit the American Public,” provides examples across the NIH that highlight how global research collaborations improve health outcomes in the U.S. The page describes how studies of diseases like cervical cancer, malaria, and COVID-19, conducted through international partnerships, have produced tools, data, and insights that directly informed U.S. prevention and treatment strategies. These collaborations have also supported drug discovery, improved diagnostics, and developed scalable care models that benefit underserved populations in America.

Together, these web resources and fact sheets underscore a core principle of Fogarty’s work: The health of Americans is inseparable from the health of the world. This is not a new concept, but it has become more salient in recent years. From global pandemics to chronic disease trends and weather-related health threats, many of the most pressing challenges we face today demand scientific cooperation that crosses national borders.

As all government programs are being scrutinized to increase their efficiency and impact, it is important to articulate clearly how global engagement serves national interests. I encourage our community to review these new web pages, share them, and reflect on what they reveal: that the United States benefits scientifically, economically, and in terms of public health, when it leads in global health research.

Updated May 27, 2025

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