The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released its first ever STI Federal Implementation Plan.
The STI Federal Implementation Plan explains how multiple federal agencies and departments are adopting a holistic strategy to advance meaningful and significant public health improvements, according to a June 8 news release. By tackling the rising threat of sexually transmitted infections in America, this new plan expands on existing significant HHS initiatives to safeguard the public's health.
“With the publication of the first-ever STI Federal Implementation Plan, these efforts serve as a call to action for collaboration across sectors in a coordinated national response to STIs,” Kaye Hayes, deputy assistant secretary for infectious disease and the director of office of infectious disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, said in the release.
More than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have been reported in the U.S. between 2020 and 2021, the release reported.
According to a 2021 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 1.6 million cases of chlamydia infections in 2021, an increase of 4.1% from 2020, the release said. Additionally, there were more than 700,000 gonorrhea cases, a 28% rise from 2017.
In 2021, there will be 176,000 new cases of syphilis, a 74% rise from 2017, according to the release. Over the previous five years, congenital syphilis cases have surged by 203%.
STIs can cause long-term, irreversible health problems, such as chronic pelvic pain, infertility and in rare cases, cancer, if they are not treated, the release said. Additionally, STIs might raise a person's risk of contracting or spreading HIV. Millions of Americans are significantly impacted by the rising STI rates.
Admiral Rachel Levine, M.D., assistant secretary for Health, emphasized the need for prompt and sustained action in response to the statistics being seen around the nation, the release reported.
“We know that the impact of the STI epidemic does not fall equally across all populations, and we’re going to keep pushing to ensure every person has access to high-quality services that are free from stigma and discrimination,” Levine said in the release.
More than 200 actions will be taken by federal stakeholders, according to the STI Federal Implementation Plan, to accomplish its five aims, the release reported. The goals include preventing new STIs; improving people's health by reducing the negative effects of STIs;boosting STI research, technology and innovation Progress; reducing STI-related health disparities and health inequities; and achieving coordinated efforts that address the STI epidemic.
