Public health agencies will receive a total of $698.2 million in the current fiscal year to help them strengthen their ability to respond to terrorism or natural disasters.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding was awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to 62 public health agencies in 50 states, eight territories and the metropolitan areas of New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles County, and Washington, D.C., through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. In 2002, Congress authorized funding for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement to support preparedness nationwide in state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments.

Funds will be used to meet goals that include:

• Addressing the public health needs of at-risk individuals (such as children or people with chronic medical disorders) in the event of a public health emergency.
• Assuring coordination among state, local, territorial, and tribal planning, preparedness, and response activities.
• Development of measureable preparedness and response activities to strengthen community resilience and mitigate the health consequences associated with large-scale emergencies.

Since 2002, more than $7 billion has been provided to state and local health departments to expand their ability to respond to a public health emergency. This does not include funding for the 2009 H1N1 response.

For more information about the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement go to http://emergency.cdc.gov/cdcpreparedness/coopagreement/.

Click here to view the full list of the FY 2010 Funding Distribution

For more information, contact: CDC Division of Media Relations Phone: 404-639-3286