$ 122 Million U.S. Funding to India for Addressing Disease Threats

Context: The United States has announced a funding of $122 million in India. 

Key Points: 

• The fund aims to prevent avoidable epidemics, early detection of disease threats, and rapid and effective response.
• The funding will be for over five years and be distributed to the three top Indian health research institutions — the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology (NIV) and National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE).
• The fund will accelerate the progress toward making India safe and secure from infectious disease threats. 
• Eligibility for funding beginning 30th September 2022 is limited to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and ICMR institutions, including the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), Chennai and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Virology (NIV) and National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) are mandated by the Ministry of Health of Family Health and Welfare (MoHFW) to provide oversight for laboratory confirmation of priority pathogens in India in a tiered manner as well as collate and analyze surveillance data for public health actions and work closely with the state governments where these institutes are located, the release added.