NCSD joined 78 other aligned organizations in a letter calling on Congress and the Biden Administration to increase funding for STD programs through the CDC as well as domestic HIV and related infectious disease programs in the FY22 Executive Budget and Congressional appropriations package.

“While STI rates peak, the same people who work to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases – contact tracers and disease intervention specialists – have been redeployed to address the current COVID-19 pandemic…[Forcing] sexual health screening clinics…to reduce hours or shut down because of understaffing.”

Specifically, the letter urges Congress to:

1. “Fund the CDC Division of STD Prevention at $252.9 million to rebuild its infrastructure and respond to the dramatic rise in STIs across the country,” and
2. Allocate $20 Million Dollars “to activate a new congenital syphilis elimination initiative at the CDC Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP)…to increase prenatal outreach and screenings for congenital syphilis and postnatal follow-up for both mothers and babies to ensure that congenital syphilis is detected at its earliest possible stage.

The letter also highlights the need for increased funding to support the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program alongside requests for increased funding through the CDC.

Read the full letter here