Background

The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy grew from a September, 2007, meeting and project to address the NIH funding issue described below. That inadequate funding is the first issue that the AHDA has undertaken, and will continue to address.

NIH Funding of research into Headache Disorders:

There can be little doubt that the healthcare system in the United States has problems. One of them is the lack of adequate funding for basic research, much of which must be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Not only is the NIH underfunded by Congress, but research funding is not allocated in a way to best meet the needs of American citizens. Diseases and conditions that affect fewer citizens sometimes receive more funding than those that affect more. Migraine disease and other headache disorders are among those conditions that receive less research funding than other conditions that receive more funding. Addressing this disproportionate funding was among the first undertakings of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA).
In September, 2007…

  • Doctors, scientists, and patient advocates went to Congress to plead our case for increased NIH funding for research into migraine and other headache disorders. We called this event “Headache on the Hill.”
  • Headache on the Hill made progress, but the necessary increases in NIH funding will not happen overnight and will require persistent advocacy on the part of many people.
  • The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy became a new organization made up of doctors, other healthcare professionals, research scientists, and patients just like you. Our current mission is to increase NIH funding for research into headache disorders.

More Information

These articles will provide you with more background on this issue.

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