Why Give to Health & Medical Research?

This short guide sets out the case for philanthropic support of health and medical research in Australia. It notes that the scope for research outstrips the available funds. Australian governments invest approximately $4 billion per year, mostly through the Commonwealth and the NHMRC, where on average fewer than 20% of applications are approved. Because demand far exceeds supply, funding programs tend to favour established scientists and safe ideas, leaving novel, higher-risk research and early-career researchers unfunded. Corporations invest more than $1 billion each year but focus on research leading to saleable products, so advances in medical practice, treatments for rare diseases or diseases of poor populations often depend on donations and bequests. Case studies on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome research and malaria illustrate these points.