SAMHSA Awards $166 Million for HIV Prevention and Treatment

Cross-posted from SAMHSA Newsroom

Thursday, October 5, 2017

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded grants totaling $166 million over five years through its Targeted Capacity Expansion-HIV (TCE-HIV) Program and its Prevention Navigator Program. The grant funding will be used to prevent HIV among high-risk populations and to treat co-occurring behavioral health disorders and HIV.

Grantees will use the funds for activities such as outreach, screening, prevention and treatment. “Our efforts in vulnerable communities have shown us that prevention works,” said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. “This funding will be used to increase access to a range of services important to prevention, recovery and healthy living.”

The purpose of the TCE-HIV Program is to provide care for HIV-positive and high-risk populations who have substance use disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. The program supports the 90-90-90 treatment target by 2020 of 90 percent of all people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90 percent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection receiving sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 90 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy having viral suppression. List of awards

The purpose of the Prevention Navigator Program is to use a navigation approach to help people at high risk for HIV and substance use disorder access prevention and support services. Studies have shown that participation in drug treatment can effectively reduce the risk of HIV transmission. List of awards

Through the two grant programs, SAMHSA expects to fund 79 grants of $200,000 to $500,000 each year for up to five years. Actual awards may vary depending on the availability of funds.

SAMHSA supports a wide variety of substance use disorder treatment programs with HIV prevention components. Other HIV initiatives have involved the treatment of pregnant and post-partum women, as well as incarcerated individuals and people involved in the criminal justice system. 

For more information, contact the SAMHSA Press Office at 240-276-2130.