NACCHO is pleased to announce two new funding opportunities to decrease syphilis via community engagement. Both opportunities focus on engaging community members to develop, or tailor, a plan to decrease syphilis burden in the local community.
Community engagement is pivotal for public health, and the cornerstone of these funding opportunities. It is a process that seeks out insight from the community into their own needs and priorities. Involving community members, including people with lived experience, in a community engagement and planning process can identify challenges that contribute to the increases in syphilis, reduce stigma, and help improve sexual health literacy. It can also facilitate opportunities to develop or enhance interventions that can contribute to better sexual health outcomes (e.g., decreasing syphilis, congenital syphilis, HIV, and/or other STIs).
The first opportunity is Community Engagement to Strengthen Local Health Department Approaches to Decreasing Syphilis for which any local health department is eligible to apply, and which can be used to focus on a specific population, geographic area, or other target identified by local data which experiences significant syphilis burden. NACCHO will fund up to 8 health departments $75,000-150,000 each, for this process.
The second is Community Engagement to Strengthen Approaches to Decreasing Syphilis Among American Indian/Alaska Native Populations which is open for applications from health departments (local or tribal/IHS facilities) to use community engagement approaches to develop, or tailor, a plan to address syphilis within AI/AN communities. Non-AI/AN organizations applying for this RFA must do so in partnership with AI/AN organizations already engaged with the community (i.e., Indian health organizations or health boards). This opportunity is available for up to three entities for $75,000-150,000 each.
Applications for both RFAs are due on March 3, 2023, and all additional information can be found in the linked RFAs above. For questions, contact Rebekah Horowitz, Director, STI Programs, at [email protected].
