Yesterday, we had a post about the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control about the prevalence of STDs in the United States.
On RHrealtiycheck.org, we found an interesting commentary by Dr. Will Wong, a board member of National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). Dr. Wong discusses how funding for STD prevention and treatment has been getting smaller and smaller.
So earlier this year NCSD set out to conduct a study on how the budget cuts were affecting the operation of programs that are designed to prevent, diagnose, and treat STDs. Our survey of states, large U.S. cities, and the territories is as equally sobering as the scale of the STD epidemic itself.
Our research found:
● 69 percent of STD programs experienced funding cuts from 2008 to 2009;
● 39 clinics supported by state and local STD programs closed due to lack of funding over the past year;
● 20 percent of the frontline STD program workforce – known as Disease Intervention Specialists – have disappeared over the past decade, and;
● 69 percent of STD programs supported by state and local dollars have experienced salary freezes and 29% have experiences layoffs.
In other words, the burden of STDs is becoming worse in this country at the same time that the resources we need to fight these illnesses continue to shrink. None of this bodes well for the future health of our nation and our communities.
It’s obvious there is a correlation between the growing STD problem and the dwindling funding. I wonder if the politicians are paying attention?
