The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences has released a statement on priorities for health and medical research ahead of the 2022 Federal Election.
Cultivating a world-leading health and medical research sector and a world-class health system to protect the health of Australians against future pandemics, climate change and beyond.
Since the pandemic began, health and medical research has been in the global spotlight. In Australia, the path through the pandemic has been heavily reliant on our world-class health and medical research sector, which has provided timely, reliable and effective solutions.
These solutions did not just appear overnight. Past government investment has paid dividends. COVID-19 provides an example of how smart, strategic investment in health and medical research and innovation can provide the foundations to navigate Australia through significant health challenges.
While the efforts of our health and medical research community have been crucial, the pandemic has also exposed a number of key gaps across that sector that have prevented—and will continue to prevent—Australia from leading the world in research and innovation.
Unprecedented health challenges like climate change, chronic disease, an ageing population, and future pandemics threaten to bring poorer health outcomes, worsening health inequality and greater economic burden. Strategic investment to future-proof health and medical research and innovation and nurture a vibrant health and medical research community will be key to addressing these challenges.
As we move beyond the pandemic, the next Australian government has a unique opportunity to maximise the impact of health and medical research, and mitigate major health challenges by:
- Embedding research and innovation in the health system
- Investing strategically in health and medical research
- Building cross-sector linkages and growing commercialisation capacity
- Tackling health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Protecting the health of Australians from climate change