HHS Awards $85 Million in Grants To Eliminate Racial, Ethnic Health Disparities
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Friday announced $85 million in grants to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities among minority communities "highly affected" by several diseases, including HIV/AIDS, cancer and diabetes. NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities provided $74.5 million to various institutions, and HHS' Office of Minority Health awarded 65 grants totaling $10.5 million -- $4.6 million of which is supported by funds from the Minority AIDS Initiative -- to support state-based efforts to eliminate health disparities. The awards included:
- $42.8 million to 14 institutions for research on minority health disparities;
- $19 million to 26 eligible biomedical and behavioral research institutions to support health disparities research and planning grants;
- $5.6 million to six biomedical and behavioral institutions to increase biomedical and behavioral research;
- $7.1 million to 153 health professionals to increase the number of individuals conducting clinical or health disparities research;
- $1 million to 20 small-scale, community-based projects in 13 states that will work to reduce "high-risk" behaviors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity or poor eating habits, as well as improve health care access;
- $2.4 million to fund minority health offices in 14 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to improve statewide responses to HIV/AIDS; and
- $4.6 million to support the development of "effective and durable" service delivery among nine community organizations and three health departments in eight states and the District of Columbia involved in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.