South Carolina – Nearly every state from California to New York is suffering a significant hit to its public health budget following the most recent Trump administration move to reduce federal spending. These events also affect South Carolina since the state is losing over $120 million following recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decision.
Billions of dollars in grants terminated
The federal agency announced the termination of billions of dollars in grants across the country, a move that deeply affects programs tied to COVID-19 response, HIV services, infectious disease control, and mental health support.
The cuts are widespread and affect several significant South Carolina initiatives. Among the largest losses is a $108 million reduction intended for control and prevention of infectious diseases. This covers money for virus surveillance projects, health disparities programs, childhood vaccines, and laboratory testing.
Feds say money no longer needed
Many local health authorities strongly disagree, however, White House officials contend the money was linked mostly to COVID-19 activities and so no longer required with the pandemic over.
De’Ashia Lee, the director of the Act Now End AIDS Coalition, emphasized that the impact goes far beyond COVID-19.
“Our laboratory in South Carolina tests for all kinds of infectious diseases, including HIV, including COVID, so without that, there will be a huge strain,” Lee said in an interview with Fox Carolina. “We may see some delays in diagnosis, some delays in testing and this could severely impact public health.”
The Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control grant
Maintaining a wide range of testing services depended particularly on the Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control grant. Losing that support could mean that both routine and emergency testing will take longer, resulting in late diagnoses and postponed therapies—a major issue for fast-moving illnesses.
Apart from the reductions in infectious diseases, the University of South Carolina is losing $4.7 million in funding that supported significant research projects. Projects like the LGBTQ+ Community Action in Research to Eliminate Substance Use Disorder, the ADAR Summit Meeting, and the Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention and Experience (FIIRRE) have all been impacted.
Aiming to close health disparities, these initiatives not only helped health research but also fostered closer ties with underprivileged populations.
Read also: Man faces serious charges for throwing Molotov cocktails on Tesla charges setting them on fire
Mental health initiatives in the focus
Mental health initiatives are also suffering. Included in South Carolina’s $12.2 million loss in mental health-related programs are the Mental Health Block Grant – ARP, the Substance Use Block Grant – ARP, and COVID Relief mental health block grant funds. These grants had been funding mental health programs during a period when demand for treatment has only been rising. Mental health experts say that without this money, already overworked services will find it even more difficult to satisfy community needs.
Critics say several of the programs had increased their function to handle continuous health issues even while federal authorities insist the funding reductions are reasonable because they were meant as temporary pandemic relief. Public health authorities fear the unexpected loss of assistance will make South Carolina unable to deal with future outbreaks and aggravate current health inequalities.
Such major financial cuts trigger concerns about how South Carolina will keep its current degree of public health services. Many worry that changes in community-based research, decreased financing for mental health care, and lower testing capacity might affect the state’s health results over time.
Community activists are demanding different financing ideas and warning that the health and well-being of thousands might be in danger without quick action as South Carolina’s health departments race to evaluate the whole effect.
