Purpose
This Dear Colleague Letter highlights two significant STI prevention funding opportunities awarded by the CDC: SHIPS and CARGOS.
STI Updates
Dear Colleagues,
I am excited to share with you today that CDC has awarded two important STI prevention funding opportunities – PS-24-0003: Support and Scale Up of HIV Prevention Services in Sexual Health Clinics (SHIPS) and CK-24-0002, Project Q: Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Gonorrhea and Other STIs (CARGOS). These programs are important components of our work to improve sexual health across the nation, as well as our response to the continued STI epidemic.
SHIPS
CDC – funded by the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative – awarded a total of $9 million to 15 recipients to scale up HIV prevention and care services in sexual health clinics. SHIPS builds on the progress made scaling up HIV prevention services in STI clinics under Component C of CDC’s PS20-2010 program.
For EHE to reach its goal of reducing new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, HIV prevention and care services must reach the people and communities who need them. SHIPS is committed to advancing health equity and is supporting existing sexual health clinics that serve communities with high HIV and STI burden. Screening for these infections in sexual health clinics can link patients to high-impact HIV prevention services and facilitate linkage to, retention in, and re-engagement in HIV care among persons with HIV. SHIPS supports successful integration of HIV prevention and care services in sexual health clinics, which is a crucial piece of a syndemic approach to addressing HIV and STIs.
Questions about SHIPS work may be directed to DSTDP EHE Coordinator, Diane Ballard (IQU0@cdc.gov).
CARGOS
CDC – via the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) cooperative agreement - has also awarded a total of $6.5 million to 20 recipients to monitor trends in antimicrobial resistant (AR) gonorrhea and other STIs in the U.S. It is intended to strengthen state and local capacity to rapidly detect and respond to threats of resistance.
CARGOS is the next chapter in critical AR gonorrhea projects, building on the foundational work and infrastructure established under three previous project initiatives – the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Program (GISP), the enhanced Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Program (eGISP), and Strengthening the U.S. Response to Resistant Gonorrhea (SURRG). CARGOS aims to enhance these efforts by streamlining efforts and providing maximum flexibility to incorporate any future AR-related STI projects, while ensuring core activities continue.
Questions about CARGOS work may be directed to the team at CARGOS@cdc.gov.
As always, thank you for your unwavering dedication to STI and HIV prevention.
Sincerely,
/Puja Seth/
Puja Seth, Ph.D.
Principal Deputy Director, Division of STD Prevention
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention