​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice (Council on Linkages) held a special meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 from 2-3pm EST to hear from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and three other Council on Linkages member organizations about the recent CDC multi-billion dollar grant program that is supporting public health infrastructure development. 

In late November 2022, CDC awarded $3.2 billion to 107 jurisdictions to help state, local, and territorial public health agencies reinvigorate and rebuild public health infrastructure, with a focus on public health workforce development. These public health infrastructure grants also include an initial award of $65 million to three national partner organizations to support the work of grant recipient jurisdictions. These national partner organizations are Council on Linkages members – the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), and Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). This five-year initiative will support “critical infrastructure needs related to workforce, foundational capabilities, data modernization, and physical infrastructure.”

During the Council on Linkages meeting, CDC provided information about the current funding and initial plans and activities related to the infrastructure grants. CDC also provided information about Public Health AmeriCorps as it relates to becoming a grantee. In addition, ASTHO, NNPHI, and PHAB provided information on initial plans related to their public health infrastructure awards.