The US launched a new drug overdose prevention strategy, funded with $2 billion from the American Rescue Plan, with a focus on treatment and care for substance abusers, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2021) The US launched a new drug overdose prevention strategy, funded with $2 billion from the American Rescue Plan, with a focus on treatment and care for substance abusers, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said on Wednesday.
"The new strategy prioritizes four key target areas Primary prevention, harm reduction, evidence-based treatment, and recovery support and reflects the Biden-Harris Administration principles of maximizing health equity for underserved populations," Becerra said in a press release.
The effort will be funded with $2 billion from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for two agencies within Becerra's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - to expand access to services for drug abusers, according to the release.
In addition, President Joe Biden proposed expanding funding for the two agencies by $4.6 billion in his 2022 budget.
The US suffered a record 96,779 overdose deaths from March 2020 to March 2021 - a period beginning with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The toll was 36% higher than the previous record set in 2019, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
