HHS awards $5 million to Puerto Rico health centers to fight the spread of Zika virus

HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced $5 million in funding to 20 health centers in Puerto Rico to further combat the Zika virus disease. Health centers will use this funding to expand voluntary family planning services, including contraceptive services, outreach and education, and to hire more staff. Learn More >>

HHS awards $5 million to Puerto Rico health centers to fight the spread of Zika virus

Today, HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced $5 million in funding to 20 health centers in Puerto Rico to further combat the Zika virus disease. Health centers will use this funding to expand voluntary family planning services, including contraceptive services, outreach and education, and to hire more staff.

“In Puerto Rico, and around the world, the Zika virus is a serious and challenging health threat,” said Burwell, who begins a two-day trip to the island today. “We are committed to doing everything we can to combat this threat and to help strengthen health care in Puerto Rico.”

There are around 474 cases of Zika in Puerto Rico that have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and that number is expected to rise, resulting in greater risk for transmission. Scientists at CDC have concluded, after careful review of existing evidence, that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Zika virus infection during pregnancy has also been linked to pregnancy loss and other adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.

“These awards will allow health centers to bolster their ongoing efforts to detect and prevent the spread of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico,” said HRSA Acting Administrator Jim Macrae.

The 20 health centers and their 84 service delivery sites in Puerto Rico serve over 330,000 people, including nearly 80,000 women age 15 to 45. Services provided include: prenatal care to over 3,300 pregnant women; delivery of more than 2,000 babies; and contraceptive services to more than 16,600 people annually.

Today, nearly 1,400 health centers operate about 9,800 service delivery sites in every U.S. state, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin; these health centers employ more than 170,000 staff who provide care for nearly 23 million patients.

To view a list of the award winners, visit:http://bphc.hrsa.gov/programopportunities/fundingopportunities/fy16zikaaward.html

For more information on the Department’s efforts to combat the Zika virus, visit:https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/08/fact-sheet-preparing-and-responding-zika-virus-home-and-abroad

To learn more about HRSA’s Health Center Program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html

To find a health center in your area, visit http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/