In May there were two important developments for NTDs in the ongoing work of the U.S. Congress to allocate spending for the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2013 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill, a new bill that supported $125 million funding for NTDs, a tremendous improvement over the President’s budgetary request of only $67 million.  The Senate initially allocated $110 million for NTDs, but Senator Dan Coats (R-IN) supported an amendment that redistributed funding for UNESCO to support other global health accounts at USAID, including the NTD Program.

The House Appropriations Committee also approved their FY13 State and Foreign Operations bill in May.  While the committee did not specify an exact amount for the NTD Program, they did include report language praising the NTD Program and affirming their support.

“Neglected Tropical Diseases. – The Committee notes the success by USAID in combating neglected tropical diseases and supports the continuation of these successful life-saving programs.”

Congressional support for and confidence in the NTD Program thus far is a great sign, and we’re hopeful that they will be able to continue to fund the program at or above its current level so that we will not lose any momentum in the progress to control and eliminate NTDs worldwide.

As they move to combine these two bills and look at larger budgetary questions – such as automatic budget cuts which go into effect in FY 2013 – we will continue to share outcomes that will impact the future work of the USAID NTD Program.

For more information on this year’s global health budget, please visit the Kaiser Family Foundation Policy Tracker.