CDC awards $28.6 million in additional state funding to fight opioid epidemic

ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding more than $28.6 million in additional funding to 44 states and the District of Columbia to support their responses to the opioid overdose epidemic. The funds will be used to strengthen prevention efforts and better track opioid-related overdoses. This builds upon the July 2017 announcement that CDC was providing $12 million to states to support overdose prevention activities.



“One piece of HHS’s five-point strategy for combating the opioid crisis is improving our understanding of the epidemic through better public health data,” stated Secretary Tom Price, Department of Health and Human Services. “The expansion of these CDC programs, made possible by legislation President Trump signed earlier this year, is an important piece of our commitment to helping states combat the scourge of opioid addiction and overdose.”



Increased funding for opioids in the fiscal year 2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill is allowing CDC to support all states funded under its Overdose Prevention in States effort, which includes three programs that equip states with resources needed to address the epidemic. The three programs are: Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States, Data-Driven Prevention Initiative and Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance.



“Drug overdoses have dramatically increased over the last two decades in America,” said CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald. “This additional CDC funding to states, who are on the frontlines of the opioid overdose epidemic, is critical to help them scale up prevention efforts to fight this crisis and save lives.”