Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is welcoming a federal funding notice of $790,056 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control in American Samoa.

“Thank you especially to Jacki Tulafono for her dedicated work on this grant to enhance our capacity to prevent and control infectious diseases in American Samoa,” said Aumua Amata. “These funds cover one year of a five-year project to effectively respond to emerging health threats and protect our community. Congratulations to Health Director Motusa Nua and all the hardworking health professionals that serve our community.”

This is a new discretionary grant to American Samoa Department of Health for health services that support capacity building for epidemiology, lab, and surveillance of infectious diseases in American Samoa. The program has played a vital role in fostering solutions to address public health needs and supporting a response-ready workforce.

The grant is through the CDC’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, And Enteric Diseases (CK). The goal of the grant program is to provide financial support and technical assistance to the state, local, and U.S. territory to detect, prevent, and respond to emerging infectious diseases, such as influenza H1N1, Zika, and Ebola epidemics, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.