Posted: Nov. 25, 2008

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 24, 2008 (Ottawa, ON) – AFMC (The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada) President and CEO Nick Busing, M.D., issued the following statement today urging the Canadian Government to follow the lead of US Senate Democratic leaders by increasing funding for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research as a strategy for economic prosperity.

"The fact that United States Senate Democratic leaders have included $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the economic stimulus bill currently under consideration by Congress demonstrates their appreciation of the fundamental link between health research funding and prosperity.”

“Increases in health research funding translate into better health outcomes, but also into commercializable products and services, new technologies, a well-educated populace, and ultimately, a wealthier nation. In these times of economic uncertainty, we must not do what simply seems intuitive and cut research funding. Quite the opposite; we urge the government to increase our support of health and biomedical research and prepare ourselves for the knowledge economy of tomorrow."

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) represents the country’s 17 faculties of medicine and is the national voice for academic medicine. Our organization was founded in 1943 and functions to support individually and collectively Canada’s medical schools through promotion of medical education, research, and clinical care.


For more information, please contact:

Irving Gold
Vice President, Government Relations and External Affairs
The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
613-730-0687 x236
igold@afmc.ca
http://afmc.ca/index-e.php