Meharry Medical College in partnership with Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science will address inequities in HIV care and treatment affecting adolescent girls and young women.
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $8 million in funding to Meharry Medical College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), to improve and expand HIV care and treatment in some U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)-supported countries.
Meharry Medical College is partnering with Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science to work in Malawi, Zambia, and other PEPFAR-supported countries to connect adolescent girls and young women with HIV to care and sustained treatment. Funding also aims to increase the capacity of health facilities to provide HIV care and treatment and improve viral suppression rates.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to support the global fight to end the HIV epidemic through our investments and partnerships in PEPFAR,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace. “This funding will bring the health equity lessons we have learned from our U.S. efforts and adapt them to support international programs that provide HIV prevention and treatment services to adolescents and young women.”
“Today’s announcement marks the first time that we at HRSA have been able to directly fund Historically Black Colleges and Universities to support PEPFAR’s goals,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “This funding is an example of our commitment to leveraging the expertise and capacity of leading American institutions in the global fight against HIV.”
Funding will support the development and expansion of programs that support the health and well-being of adolescent girls and young women by:
- Increasing the capacity of health facilities to provide and sustain HIV care;
- Partnering with treatment sites to provide service delivery models that are able to respond to and address interruptions in treatment and continue to improve viral suppression rates;
- Using quality improvement strategies to address the unmet health needs of mothers and their HIV-exposed infants throughout pregnancy and postpartum; and,
- Using data to improve the HIV continuum of care at all stages.
For more information on HRSA’s Global Health Program, visit https://www.hrsa.gov/office-global-health/global-hivaids-program.