The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Program

Key points

  • The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Program provides flexible funding to the nation's health departments to detect, prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
  • The ELC Program also administers the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement, a funding mechanism that awards critical support for infectious disease programs and projects.

Overview

Since 1995, ELC has played a vital role in building epidemiology, laboratory, and health information systems capacity for the nation's health departments while fostering cross-cutting solutions to address public health needs and supporting a response-ready workforce.

The ELC Program administers the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement, which provides financial support and technical assistance to state, local, and U.S. territory and affiliate health departments to detect, prevent, and respond to emerging infectious diseases.

Each year, ELC awards hundreds of millions of dollars to 65 recipients across the nation. These funded recipients serve as the foundation for our national public health infrastructure and are integral to the nation's ability to tackle infectious disease threats.

ELC accomplishes its mission through a unique structure of six robust public health programs; cross-cutting projects focusing on leadership, integration, flexibility, and sustainability; and 15 disease-specific projects. ELC also distributes supplemental funding on behalf of CDC for emergency response efforts, such as those for the influenza H1N1, Zika, and Ebola epidemics, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.