48 Leading Public Health Organizations Call On New CDC Director Mandy Cohen to Restore Funding for Disease Intervention Specialists

For Immediate Release: July 11, 2023
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, efinley@ncsddc.org, (919) 749-7309

Washington, DC – Today, 48 national and local public health organizations, led by the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), sent a joint letter to the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mandy Cohen, calling for the restoration of funding for a critical part of the public health workforce – the Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) who do contact tracing and connect people to vital community services – that was recently rescinded during the debt ceiling budget negotiations. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,  Human Rights Campaign, National Association of County and City Health Officials, and NASTAD, as well as local and statewide health care providers across the country, were among the signatories urging the CDC to restore a portion of the recission through unspent end-of-year funds as fiscal year 2023 comes to a close. Together, this coalition represents every state and local health department in the U.S., as well as the nation’s leaders on maternal and reproductive health, LGBTQ+ health, and HIV services. 

Despite investing $600 million to build up the DIS network in states and local jurisdictions across the country, the Biden administration rescinded $400 million reserved to support at least 3,000 jobs by 2026 as part of the recent debt ceiling budget deal. Without funding from alternative sources, the workforce is likely to be dismantled in a matter of months, making it harder for the nation to respond to current and future outbreaks, exacerbating inequities in disease incidence and care, and leaving more people vulnerable to syndemic infections – infections that share key social determinants of health. At the same time, STI rates continue to soar to record highs: syphilis rates rose 74-percent from 2016-2021, and 220 infants died in 2021 due to congenital syphilis, which rose 200-percent in the same time. 

 The full text of the letter can be found below and here.

Dear Director Cohen:

We, the forty-eight undersigned organizations representing multi sector national leaders and public health organizations, are writing to bring to your attention the detrimental effect that the $400 million rescission of Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) funds, contained in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, will have in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. We are requesting that as fiscal year 2023 comes to a close, that any unspent end-of-year funds be used to restore a portion of the DIS rescission.

In order to intervene in infectious disease outbreaks such as sexually transmitted infectious (STIs), HIV, COVID-19, the highly trained DIS workforce identifies people who may not be aware that they have an infection, connects individuals with testing and treatment, and counsels individuals on prevention. This workforce played a lifesaving role during COVID-19, helped affected communities respond quickly to last year’s mpox outbreak, and continue to combat the rising rates of congenital syphilis.

Since the height of COVID-19, the CDC has provided $600 million to states and local jurisdictions to build up the DIS workforce. By 2026, the program was estimated to support 3,000 DIS workers across the country. If the CDC is unable to restore the funding gaps created by the rescission the following will occur:

• The workforce created by the federal investment will be dismantled. In a matter of months, the vast majority of those 3,000 positions could be eliminated, which would immediately endanger the sexual health of the communities they serve.

• The nation will be less prepared to respond to existing and future outbreaks. It took time to stand up this expanded workforce after funding was provided in the American Rescue Plan Act. A rapid scale back of the DIS workforce would limit our ability to respond to existing and future COVID-like outbreaks.
• Inequities in disease incidence and care will be compounded. STIs, which are at all-time highs in the United States for the eighth year in a row, disproportionately impact racial minorities due to syndemic social conditions. Eliminating the majority of DIS–who are in and of the communities they serve–will be devastating to our work to reduce these inequities.

Without the investment in the DIS workforce, the nation will be left unprepared to combat current infectious disease outbreaks and to address unknown outbreaks that could occur in the future. We request that the CDC work to ensure adequate funding be provided to protect the health of our people.

Thank you for your consideration. Please contact Rachel Deitch at the National Coalition of STD Directors with any questions. She can be reached at rdeitch@ncsddc.org or 847-804-6672.

Sincerely,

National Coalition of STD Directors
Act Now: End AIDS (ANEA) Coalition
African American Health Alliance AIDS Action Baltimore
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Foundation Chicago
AIDS United
Alliance Care 360
American Academy of HIV Medicine
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
APLA Health
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
AVAC
Big Cities Health Coalition
Black Public Health Academy
Chicago Women’s AIDS Project
Equality California
Equality Federation
Fenway Health
Fenway Institute
Georgia AIDS Coalition
HIV Dental Alliance
Howard Brown Health
Human Rights Campaign
Illinois Public Health Association
JSI
Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center
Life Is Work
McAlpine Consulting for Growth, LLC
NASTAD
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
National Health Law Program
National Working Positive Coalition
NMAC (National Minority AIDS Council)
PrEP4All
Project VIDA Inc.
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

San Francisco AIDS Foundation
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
The AIDS Institute
THRIVE SS, Inc.
Treatment Action Group
U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus

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About The National Coalition of STD Directors

The National Coalition of STD Directors is a national public health membership organization representing health department STD directors, their support staff, and community-based partners across 50 states, seven large cities, and eight U.S. territories. Our mission is to advance effective STD prevention programs and services across the country. NCSD does this as the voice of our membership. We provide leadership, build capacity, convene partners, and advocate. Go to ncsddc.org for more information.