FAIR NEWSLETTER 

President Jimmy Carter & FAIR

On his flight to D.C. for the NVHR (see below), Dr. Darling was fortunate to meet former President Jimmy Carter. Dr. Darling presented President Carter an autographed copy of his book, ComaLife, with a personal inscription thanking Mr. Carter for his service to our Country. We are hopeful that after President Carter reads ComaLife and the chapter that introduces the FAIR Foundation (formerly ProrateNIH), he will visit this site and become involved in educating America on the need for change at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

        
Photo by Bud Zborowski of Polycom (see below)

FAIR at the NVHR

The 107th Congress authorized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work with voluntary health organizations and professional societies to promote liver wellness and prevention of viral hepatitis, thus the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) was formed. Dr. Darling was invited to attend the first meeting in Washington, D.C. to present the FAIR Foundation policies on NIH research allocations for hepatitis C.

Dr. Darling's attempts to have the members focus on the poor state of funding by the NIH for hepatitis research and the disproportionately low funding for hepatitis versus AIDS were not accepted by the Research Workshop Moderator or participants, three of whom were associated with the AIDS community, including the Director of AIDS research for Amfar (American Foundation for AIDS Research). At the concluding ceremony that summarized the events, no mention was made of the poor state of hepatitis research allocations. Dr. Darling asked for the microphone and respectfully expressed his dismay at the lack of willingness to address the fact that the NIH is spending $3053 on each AIDS patient, $20 on each hepatitis C patient and less on each hepatitis B patient. He stated that he hoped next year the convention would have the courage to address this issue without rancor.

AIDS activist Alan Clear, Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, then asked for the microphone and strongly expressed his belief that those seeking such funding changes by the NIH should get their money from the war in IRAQ and that AIDS deserves much more money. Dr. Darling had no opportunity to respond.

After the event, Dr. Darling approached Mr. Clear respectfully and offered a handshake with a request to hold a joint caucus next year to present their differing views to the convention. Mr. Clear raised his voice to Dr. Darling and in a very hostile tone stated that he would never talk to him and that AIDS deserved much more money. (See total 2002 AIDS allocations HERE)

Dr. Darling then passed out to all members of the convention the educational graphic charts you may view HERE

Dr. Darling at the NVHR with Dr. Margolis, CDC Director of Viral Hepatitis

NETWORKING

During airline travel, Dr. Darling also met three other people who expressed dismay at the disparities in NIH funding:

• Robert Novak, Nationally Syndicated Columnist, Chicago Sun Times and co-Anchor, "The Capital Gang" on CNN

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• Bud Zborowski, who was representing Polycom, had been invited by Ex-Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, to join the Gingrich Group in the VIP section of Constitution Hall during the historic Medicare bill signing by President Bush. Newt Gingrich's, company Center for Health Transformation is dedicated to adoption of better policies for health care in the USA and Polycom is the worldwide leader in market share for voice and video conferencing, including telemedicine. Mr. Zborowski, who was sitting next to Dr. Darling on the Delta flight, has been to our Internet site and watched the Stossel Video. The video confirmed his dismay at NIH research spending and he has forwarded information on our efforts to the Gingrich's group and we are very grateful.

• 
  
  Secretary of Health & Human Services, Tommy Thompson, introduces President Bush at the historic Medicare Bill signing. Picture by Bud Zborowski

• Ex-President, Jimmy Carter's, cousin, Adam Strange, President and CEO of New Heights Mfg. Inc.  Dr. Darling met Mr. Strange on a separate flight from the flight on which Dr. Darling met the ex-President Carter.

We are sincerely hopeful all these networking contacts will help us educate America on the disparities in NIH research funding so that change can occur.

A CALL TO THE NVHR

Illustrating the dramatic need for more hepatitis C research monies from the NIH, with his approval, we include the following pictures of Art Magana. First we see Art struggling to smile while dying from hepatitis C induced end-stage liver disease in the transplant ICU at Loma Linda University Medical Center as he waits, hoping to receive the "Gift of Life." Art is severely jaundiced (yellow).

After liver transplant under the care of Loma Linda University Medical Center's world-renowned transplant physicians, coordinators, nurses and support staff

Hepatitis C is the single greatest cause of liver transplant. More disease research is needed for it and all diseases now being underfunded, including the sixteen that kill more Americans than AIDS.

**Please** help us in our efforts to gain fair and equitable NIH distributions for ALL diseases by joining HERE. All member sign-up information is FREE and CONFIDENTIAL.
 

The FAIR Foundation
P.O. Box 11991
Palm Desert, CA 92211
Ph: 760-200-2766
E-mail: FAIR@dc.rr.com

FAIR Mission Statement: The NIH shall use a disease’s mortality rate as the initial allocation factor. If you have a disease that is killing the most Americans, it shall receive the largest allocation, if it is killing the second largest number, it shall receive the second largest research funding and so on. Secondary factors insure diseases with lower mortality rates but that produce great suffering shall also receive increased research funding. See HERE

and please remember....

FAIR is an acronym for Fair Allocations In Research.  FAIR is fair.