Ending the HIV Epidemic by 2030

HRSA Administrator Dr. George Sigounas speaking before a panel of key advocates on Feb. 27

Speaking before a panel of key advocates on Feb. 27, HRSA Administrator Dr. George Sigounas broadly outlined a plan to have BPHC and HAB jointly work in high-risk jurisdictions to stop the HIV epidemic in the U.S. within a decade. He was among senior HHS leaders to speak in a department-wide address last month.

If funded, the plan would rely on HRSA to "play a leading role" through its flagship HIV/AIDS, Primary Care and 340B drug discounting programs, Dr. Sigounas said, in addition to the CDC, NIH, IHS and SAMHSA.

New Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Funding Opportunity

HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy has released the Notice of Funding Opportunity for a new Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) initiative called RCORP-Implementation (HRSA-19-082). HRSA plans to award approximately 75 grants to rural communities as part of this funding opportunity.

You can review the funding opportunity at grants.gov.

Successful RCORP-Implementation award recipients will receive up to $1 million for a three-year period of performance to enhance and expand substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), service delivery in high-risk rural communities. Award recipients will implement a set of core SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery activities that align with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Five-Point Strategy to Combat the Opioid Crisis (PDF – 76 KB)

Read the press release.

HRSA Recipient Webcast on “Ending the HIV Epidemic” Initiative: March 13

During the State of the Union Address last month, the Administration announced a bold new initiative “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.” If funds are appropriated by Congress, this is a ten-year initiative beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2020 to achieve the important goal of reducing new HIV infections to less than 3,000 per year by 2030. This level of reduction would essentially mean that HIV transmissions would be rare and meet the definition of ending the epidemic.

An informational webcast for HRSA recipients on “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America” will be held on Wednesday, March 13, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET. This event will provide HRSA recipients with details about the goals and objectives of the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative and will discuss HRSA’s critical role in this initiative.

Join the webcast the day of the session.

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: March 10

HRSA will recognize National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10. For HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP), this observance provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of HIV care and treatment services for women and girls, a population that disproportionately faces HIV-related health disparities.

Of the more than half a million clients served by RWHAP in 2017, 27.1 percent were female. Approximately 85.2 percent of female clients receiving RWHAP HIV medical care were virally suppressed, which is slightly lower than the national RWHAP average (85.9 percent).

Release of Maternal Mortality Summit Technical Report

photo of a child's hands on a pregnant woman's belly

Maternal mortality remains a universally recognized public health priority, despite efforts and some success in addressing this issue. HRSA held a Maternal Mortality Summit last June to highlight the importance of this critical public health issue and to examine challenges and innovative solutions to reduce maternal mortality in the United States and globally.

Following the Summit, HRSA staff developed a report on the meeting and its outcomes and key findings, HRSA Maternal Mortality Summit: Promising Global Practices to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes. The report documents opportunities for future collaboration and recognizes the need for more research to identify predictors of maternal mortality and effective interventions in regions throughout the world.

Read the Maternal Mortality Summit Technical Report.

80% by 2018 National Achievement Award Grand Prize Winner: NOELA Community Health Center

The 80% by 2018 National Achievement Award recognizes dedicated individuals and organizations who advance needed initiatives to reach the national goal of regularly screening 80% of adults age 50 or over for colorectal cancer. The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable recently recognized six honorees with the 80% by 2018 National Achievement Award, including awarding HRSA-funded NOELA Community Health Center the grand prize.

Join a HRSA webinar to hear from other HRSA-funded health centers that have successfully raised their screening rates.

Colorectal Cancer Screening: Different Paths to 80%
Monday, March 18
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-233-9404
Passcode: 3790815

HRSA Fact Sheets

The FY 2018 HRSA Fact Sheets are now available on data.hrsa.gov.

The Fact Sheets are downloadable PDF files that provide summary data about HRSA’s major programs nationally, and by state, county, and Congressional district.

We welcome your feedback at data@hrsa.gov.

Unscreened, 50,000 to Die in 2019

Actor and CDC spokesman Terrence Howard lost his mother to colorectal cancer when she was 56 – the age group that produces the highest rate of new cases. Despite decades of steady gains against the disease, failure by those in their fifties to get screened continues to drive colorectal deaths.

While colorectal cancer screenings have been increasing in recent years – particularly among Medicare patients – less than half of people age 50 to 64 have received the recommended check-up. And Asian- and Hispanic-Americans are at especially high risk, experts said in a recent webcast.

Colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., is expected to kill more than 50,000 people this year.

Learn more about colorectal cancer.

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