Global InformationEcoHealth Alliance information
 | |
| Abbreviation | EHA |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
Tax ID no. | 31-1726494 |
| Focus | Pandemic prevention, Scientific research, One Health, Conservation |
| Location |
|
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Peter Daszak, President |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Wildlife Trust |
EcoHealth Alliance is an US-based[1] non-governmental organization with a stated mission of protecting people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit focuses on research aimed at preventing pandemics and promoting conservation in hotspot regions worldwide.
The EcoHealth Alliance focuses on diseases caused by deforestation and increased interaction between humans and wildlife. The organization has researched the emergence of diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Nipah virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Rift Valley fever, the Ebola virus, and COVID-19.
The EcoHealth Alliance also advises the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) on global wildlife trade, threats of disease, and the environmental damage posed by these.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, EcoHealth's ties with the Wuhan Institute of Virology were put into question in relation to investigations into the origin of COVID-19.[2][3][4][5] Citing these concerns, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) withdrew funding to the organization in April 2020.[6][7] Significant criticism followed this decision, including a joint letter signed by 77 Nobel laureates and 31 scientific societies. The NIH later reinstated funding to the organization as one of 11 institutions partnering in the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) initiative in August 2020,[8] but all activities funded by the grant remain suspended.[9]
In 2022, the NIH terminated the EcoHealth Alliance grant, stating that "EcoHealth Alliance had not been able to hand over lab notebooks and other records from its Wuhan partner that relate to controversial experiments involving modified bat viruses, despite multiple requests."[10] In 2023, an audit by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services found that "NIH did not effectively monitor or take timely action to address" compliance problems with the EcoHealth Alliance.[11] In December 2023, the EcoHealth Alliance denied allegations that it double-billed the NIH and United States Agency for International Development for research in China.[12] In May 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services banned all federal funding for the EcoHealth Alliance.[13]
- ^ Gulland, Anne (June 22, 2021). "UK scientist at centre of debate over origin of Covid pandemic 'recuses himself' from inquiry". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ McKay, Betsy (September 25, 2021). "Covid-19 Panel of Scientists Investigating Origins of Virus Is Disbanded". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ Lerner, Sharon; Hvistendahl, Mara (September 7, 2021). "New Details Emerge About Coronavirus Research at Chinese Lab". The Intercept.
- ^ A. Chris Gajilan. "Covid-19 origins: Why the search for the source is vital". CNN.
- ^ Hvistendahl, Mara; Lerner, Sharon (October 1, 2021). "NIH Bat Coronavirus Grant Report Was Submitted More Than Two Years Late". The Intercept.
- ^ "Funding for Coronavirus Research Study Withdrawn by NIH | Sabin Center for Climate Change Law". climate.law.columbia.edu. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Aizenman, Nurith (April 29, 2020). "Why The U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses". NPR. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
- ^ Andy says (August 27, 2020). "NIH awards grant to EcoHealth Alliance after political uproar". STAT. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ ""This Shouldn't Happen": Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy". Vanity Fair. March 31, 2022.
- ^ Field, Matt (August 24, 2022). "NIH to terminate EcoHealth Alliance grant after its Wuhan partners refuse to deliver information on coronavirus studies". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ Kaiser, Jocelyn (January 25, 2023). "Federal watchdog finds problems with NIH oversight of grant funding bat virus research in China". Science. doi:10.1126/science.adg8542.
- ^ Strobel, Warren P. (December 23, 2023). "Investigators Probe Whether U.S. Was Billed Twice for Coronavirus Research in China". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Mueller, Benjamin (May 15, 2024). "U.S. Suspends Funding for Group at Center of Covid Origins Fight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2024.