Action Medical Research, previously The National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases, is a major British medical research charity, founded in 1952, that funds research to prevent and treat disease and disability in babies and children.
Its aims include:
- tackling premature birth and treating sick and vulnerable babies
- helping children affected by disability, disabling conditions and infections
- targeting rare diseases that affect children.
It does this by:
- identifying and funding UK medical research most likely to benefit babies, children and young people
- assessing the impact of the funded research and sharing the results
- raising research funding
History
Founded in 1952 as the National Fund for Poliomyelitis Research by Duncan Guthrie, the charity's original aim was the eradication of polio. After the steep reduction in paralytic poliomyelitis resulting from the introduction of the vaccine, the charity's activities diversified. It became The National Fund for Research into Poliomyelitis and Other Crippling Diseases in 1960 and The National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases in 1967, becoming known informally as Action Research for the Crippled Child. It was renamed Action Research in 1990, and became Action Medical Research in 2003. The World Health Organization's 2002 declaration that Europe is free from polio coincided with the charity's fiftieth anniversary.