US grants $945 million to fund opioid crisis research on treating 10.5 million addicted Americans
- An estimated 10.5 million Americans misuse opioids
- The NIH will give $945 million in grants and contracts to 41 states
- Forthcoming research aims to better treat both pain and addiction
- Other programs will try to measure types and levels of pain more accurately
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will give out $945 million in grant and program money to fund research on the opioid crisis, the agency said Thursday.
An estimated 10.5 million Americans misuse opioids, according to the NIH. More than 47, 000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2017.
Although the addiction crisis seems at last to have begun to slow, public health advocates have warned that a substantial investment is needed to get addicted Americans proper treatment and keep additional people from getting hooked.
President Trump promised to tackle the opioid epidemic head-on last year, came under scrutiny for proposing vague plans, but has now ensured that Congress can commit the newly-allocated funds to 41 US states.
Last March, a bill allocated $3.3 billion to a year to fight the opioid epidemic.
Most of the 10.5 million Americans who have misused opioids were first exposed to them through prescription painkillers. The NIH will fund $945 million in research on better pain management and addiction treatment, the agency announced on Thursday (file)
‘President Trump’s approach to the opioid crisis and HHS’s strategy have both been based in the best science we have,’ said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
‘We have effective tools, such as medication-assisted treatment, but we still need better ways to treat opioid addiction and manage pain in an effective, personalized way.’