Congressman Faleomavaega today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has awarded $69,044.00 to the American Samoa Department of Health (ASDOH) through a Chronic Disease Control Cooperative Agreement grant for Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems (BRFSS).

The grant was awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Public Health Surveillance Program Office (PHSPO).  It is authorized through Public Law 95-626 which was introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy in 1978.  The law was passed by Congress and amended the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the programs of financial assistance for the delivery of health services and the provision of preventive health services.

The BRFSS program will help State Health Departments monitor the prevalence of major behavioral risks associated with premature morbidity and mortality in adults to improve the planning, implementation, and evaluation of disease prevention and health promotion programs.  Through the grant program, the PHSPO will manage surveillance systems with cross-CDC utility and develop new ideas, methods, tools, information sources, analysis, and dissemination.

More specifically, the funding will assist the American Samoa Department of Health to maintain and expand 1) specific surveillance using telephone and multimode survey methodology of the behaviors of the general population that contribute to the occurrence of prevention of chronic diseases and injuries, and 2) the collection, analysis, and dissemination of BRFSS data to State categorical programs for their use in assessing trends, directing program planning, evaluating programs, establishing program priorities, developing policy, and targeting relevant population groups, according to the DHHS grant announcement.

This year, the PHSPO selected 53 recipients for this grant and awarded an overall funding amount of $45 million.  The grant budget period will extend until March 2012 and the project period will continue through March 2014.

“I would like to congratulate the American Samoa Department of Health for having successfully secured this Chronic Disease Control Cooperative Agreement grant made available this year through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” Congressman Faleomavaega stated.

“This program was originally designed to improve the delivery of health services and especially build capacity and data collection for preventative efforts.  I am pleased to know that these funds will support these efforts in American Samoa,” Faleomavaega added.
“Lastly, I commend Ms. Elizabeth Ponausuia, recently nominated ASDOH Director and current Deputy Director, and her staff for pursuing these grants to improve health outcomes in American Samoa,” Congressman Faleomavaega concluded.