Resources for the Future is launching a new Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy next week. The lunchtime launch is on Wednesday, October 7 and open to the public.
The Center’s name may be long and a bit wonky, but the purpose is simple: conduct analysis to improve prediction and prevention of disease outbreak and spread – here in the U.S. and globally. That sounds a lot like the CDC, doesn’t it?
But RFF’s prowess in the economics of infectious disease, and a strong focus on drug resistance and how to control it, fill at least two major gaps in infectious disease knowledge. Its work in these areas will complement the CDC, WHO, and other agencies who fulfill basic surveillance and public health roles, but can’t give us much (if any) insight into the economic consequences of pandemic flu and other health disasters, nor can they use this insight to promote needed policy reform in the U.S. and globally. We recently called for global leadership to address drug resistance. The Center will provide important evidence for the need to heed that call.
We applaud the foresight of the Center’s funders, and congratulate its researchers.
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