NCHHSTP Highlights from the FY 2016 President's Budget

February 4, 2015

Dear Colleagues,

On Monday, President Obama submitted his fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress which proposes a budget of $1.162 billion for CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) programs. This request includes an increase of $44 million over the FY 2015 Enacted amount, reflecting the Administration’s continued support of HIV, viral hepatitis, STD and TB prevention among adults and youth.

The budget request for viral hepatitis activities totals $62.8 million, an increase of $31.5 million from the FY 2015 Enacted level. CDC will use the increase to implement the following activities that are aligned with the HHS action plan, Combating the Silent Epidemic of Viral Hepatitis:

• Strengthening state and local capacity to detect new infections, coordinate prevention activities, provide feedback to providers for quality improvement, and track progress toward prevention goals
• Increasing the number of state and local jurisdictions with provider and public health networks that will improve access to testing and linkage to care and treatment for persons living with hepatitis B and hepatitis C
• Strengthening professional education to expand the number of providers prepared to test and treat persons living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C
• Enhancing targeted prevention programs in states reporting the largest increases in new HCV cases
• Improving policies and programs to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B
• Improving vaccination guidelines for hepatitis A based upon new research

The President’s budget continues to provide needed support for CDC’s programs to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). Along with continuing our efforts to implement high-impact prevention interventions through the health department and in communities, it includes an increase of $6.35 million to support efforts to better link persons diagnosed and living with HIV to appropriate care, examine how new biomedical interventions are being used, and facilitate the development of integrated, statewide plans for HIV prevention, care and treatment and other supportive services. Another $6.3 million will be used to evaluate and improve school HIV prevention activities and increase outreach strategies and interventions for youth at disproportionate risk for HIV infection.

The proposed budgets for STD and TB prevention in FY 2016 are level with the FY 2015 Enacted amounts. CDC will continue critical efforts to support STD prevention and control with emphasis on the most vulnerable populations, including adolescents, young adults, and MSM; and to monitor and prevent drug-resistant gonorrhea. CDC will continue to support and work with partners to reduce the incidence of TB in the United States and effectively treat those with TB disease. In particular, efforts will focus on addressing the 11 million domestic cases of latent TB infection, as well as ongoing transmission of TB in vulnerable populations.

TB and STD are included in the Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative. At the request level, NCHHSTP expects to receive approximately $30 million. These funds will primarily support the deployment of rapid response teams when an outbreak of drug-resistant gonorrhea is identified in the United States, as well as research to improve the treatment of active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection.

Finally, as in previous years, the budget request continues to promote program collaboration and service integration, prevention through healthcare, and high-impact prevention approaches to policy, program and research, as a way to leverage funding, promote efficiencies, and reduce incidence, illness, mortality and disparities.

In summary, this budget affords the opportunity to make continued progress toward national goals for the prevention of HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs, and TB among adults and youth. We look forward working with you to achieve this potential.

Sincerely,

/Jonathan Mermin/
Jonathan H. Mermin, M.D., MPH
Director
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/nchhstp