NIH funds $945 million in research to tackle the national opioid crisis through NIH HEAL Initiative

Approximately 375 awards in 41 states will accelerate scientific solutions.

On September 26th the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded an unprecedented $945 million in total fiscal year 2019 funding for grants, contracts and cooperative agreements across 41 states through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative or NIH HEAL Initiative. This trans-NIH research effort to reverse the opioid crisis aims to improve treatments for chronic pain, curb the rates of opioid use disorder and overdose and achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction. NIH is taking an “all hands on deck” approach leveraging expertise from almost every NIH institute and center to approach the crisis from all angles and disciplines, and across the full spectrum of research from basic to implementation science.

As part of the NIH HEAL Initiative, NIMH is working with other NIH institutes to test collaborative care for treating those with opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions in community settings.