The CDC has awarded $3.2 billion in grants that have been issued to local and territorial public health agencies aimed to rebuild and strengthen the public health infrastructure within the United States, according to an official statement from the CDC.
The investment is also aimed at rebuilding the national public health workforce.
“State, local, and territorial health departments are the heart of the US public health system, and the COVID-19 pandemic severely stressed these agencies, which were already weakened by neglect and underinvestment,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said in the CDC statement.
The CDC awarded direct funding totaling $3.14 million to 107 public health departments in all 50 states, Washington, DC, 8 territories or freely associated states, and 48 large municipal public health departments. The CDC awarded an additional $65 million in grants to 3 partnering organizations, which include the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the National Network of Public Health Institutes, and the Public Health Accreditation Board as well.
“We are meeting them where they are and trusting them to know what works best for their communities,” Walensky said in the statement.
“This historic investment in public health will allow ASTHO and our partners to fully engage and support every state and territorial health agency in the country in their work to address urgent public health needs and prepare for the next pandemic,” ASTHO Chief Executive Officer Michael R. Fraser, PhD, MS, said in a joint statement from the organizations.
