PHPR Funding for Zika Preparedness and Response Activities

CDC Awarding $25 Million in PHPR Zika Supplemental Funding

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is awarding $25 million in Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) funding to 21 states, cities, and territories to support efforts to protect Americans from Zika virus infection and associated adverse health outcomes, including microcephaly and the other serious birth defects. These funds are part of the $350 million Congress provided to CDC as part of the Zika supplemental funding appropriation. In addition to preparedness and response activities, CDC will award this additional funding to support Zika activities for epidemiology and laboratory capacity (ELC), birth defects surveillance, vector-borne disease regional centers of excellence, and the vector control unit in Puerto Rico.

PHPR Zika funding of $25 million will provide support to 21 jurisdictions at greatest risk of seeing Zika in their communities.

Jurisdictions can use the funds to:

• Rapidly identify and investigate a possible outbreak of Zika virus in their communities;
• Coordinate a comprehensive response across all levels of government and nongovernmental partners (including the health care sector);
• Identify and connect families affected by Zika to community services; and
• Purchase preparedness resources like insect repellent, screens and supplies for Zika Prevention Kits.

In July 2016, CDC awarded $25 million in funding to states, cities, and territories to support efforts to protect Americans from Zika virus infection and associated adverse health outcomes, including microcephaly and the other serious birth defects. This award was available to 53 state, city, and territorial health department in areas at risk for outbreaks of Zika. The funding was effective July 1 and can be used through June 2017 for the aforementioned activities.

Selection of funding recipients for this initial supplemental funding was based on the risk of local transmission as determined by the estimated range of the two Aedes mosquito species known to transmit Zika virus in the U.S.; history of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks; and size of population.

A press release announcing the July 2016 award is also available online.

Supporting State and Local Emergency Preparedness

In addition to the Zika-specific funding, CDC has awarded $616.42 million in cooperative agreements to 62 public health departments across the country to improve and sustain emergency preparedness of state and local public health systems. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement funding supports all-hazards preparedness and is a critical source of funding and support for the nation’s public health system. The PHEP program provides resources annually that are needed to ensure that local communities can respond effectively to infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or chemical, biological, or radiological nuclear events.