HHS Awards More Than $24 Million to Eliminate Health Disparities

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the awarding of $24.1 million by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD). These funds support the advancement of health disparities research and the elimination of health disparities among racial and ethnic minority and medically underserved communities.

"These awards are a critical component of our fight to eliminate health disparities," Secretary Thompson said. "These funds will support the pioneering approaches the Nation needs to close the health gap among racial, ethnic, and underserved populations across the country."

The NCMHD was designated by Congress to lead, coordinate, support, and assess the NIH research effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities as they affect racial and ethnic communities and medically underserved individuals.

"The NIH leads the nation's biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences research," according to NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni. "This research will help us to identify cutting-edge diagnostics, treatments, and preventive strategies that will reduce and eventually eliminate health disparities."

"At the NCMHD, we are working to build an inclusive, collaborative biomedical and behavioral research enterprise that will address this public health crisis," said Dr. Ruffin. "This year's awards continue to strengthen the collaborative partnerships between the NIH and institutions and individuals engaged in health disparities research to ensure the health of all Americans."

The following fiscal year 2004 awards were made by the NCMHD:

• NCMHD Endowment Program awards totaling $5.0 million have been made to four institutions for the purpose of facilitating minority health disparities research and other health disparities research. These institutions are all Centers of Excellence as defined by Section 736 of the Public Health Service Act. The grants will help these institutions to strengthen and build their capacity for minority health and other health disparities research.
• New awards totaling $4.3 million have been made to 11 academic institutions under the NCMHD Centers of Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities, and Training (Project EXPORT). Awards support the development of resources and infrastructure at these institutions as a prelude to initiating full-scale health disparities research, community outreach, and training aimed at eliminating health disparities.
• New awards totaling $4.1 million have been made to five qualified biomedical and behavioral research institutions under the NCMHD Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) Program. The RIMI program assists non-doctoral degree institutions to develop their research infrastructures, primarily through collaborations with research-intensive universities.
• $10.7 million in awards has been issued to 243 qualified health professionals under the NCMHD Loan Repayment Programs, which are designed to increase the number of individuals conducting clinical or health disparities research, including researchers from health disparity populations.

A list of the institutional grantees follows.