CDC awarded $117 million to state and local health departments to help rebuild and begin to expand HIV prevention and treatment efforts as the U.S. continues to respond to COVID-19. The awards are part of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, which funds 57 priority areas to expand and tailor key HIV prevention strategies to community needs.

“We are committed to making the end of HIV in the U.S. a reality,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “That is why this initiative, and responding to COVID-19’s impact on the HIV epidemic, is so critical to tackle for the Biden-Harris Administration.”

This is the second major round of CDC funding delivered to state and local health departments as part of the initiative and builds upon initial investments. The funds will be used to expand access to the initiative’s four major strategies and to reduce health disparities. Total awards range from $1.9 million to $10.6 millionpdf icon. CDC distributed the available funding based on the burden of the epidemic and the number of focus counties within each state.

Outreach will be expanded and strengthened in key settings critical to reaching people at risk for HIV who may not otherwise have access to healthcare services. These efforts will expand syringe services programs (SSPs) and invest more in sexually transmitted disease specialty clinics.

“These awards will help us regain the much-needed momentum toward ending the HIV epidemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H. “With continued infusion of new resources and innovation, we still have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put this epidemic in the history books.”

To reach EHE goals, addressing continued disparities will be crucial.