Leading researchers from across Diabetes UK’s Panels and Committees have written to the Prime Minister to urge him to financially support medical research charities through the coronavirus pandemic.
Medical research charities like us make a unique and vital contribution to research that benefits the millions of people in the UK living with long-term health conditions. What would diabetes care look like today if we hadn't been able to fund the first insulin pen, the first at-home blood glucose meter, or find a better way to screen for eye damage?
The drop in income that charities like us face due to the coronavirus pandemic will see UK scientists lose out on millions of pounds of funding over the coming years. This will mean a huge and long-lasting impact for the countless people who benefit from their life-saving discoveries.
Our researchers are asking the government to support the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) proposal for a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership Fund. We're also asking for a £310 million-a-year package to plug the estimated shortfall in research funding over the next four years.
Read the letter (PDF, 142 KB), or see it published in The Times.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson is our Director of Research. She said:
“The UK medical research charity sector is world leading and puts people’s health at the heart of everything we do. But because of the extreme challenges to the UK economy due to the pandemic, we cannot continue to invest at the same level in new research without Government support.
Diabetes UK and the researchers we fund are here to serve the millions of people in this country with, or at risk, of diabetes. We are asking the Prime Minister to please act now to ensure we can continue to fund life-changing research now and in the future.”
By donating today, you can play a part in helping our research to continue, so we can help improve the lives of people with diabetes across the country.
Together we can make a difference.
