Q&A: 17-member coalition aims to speak with ‘one voice’ on STIs
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Seventeen national advocacy organizations have joined to form the National STI Coalition, an effort to advance public health policy goals to combat the rise of sexually transmitted infections.
According to CDC data, there were approximately 2.4 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reported in 2018, marking 5 straight years of record-breaking STD figures in the United States. The new coalition will advocate for policies supporting access to STI services and expanded federal resources for STI prevention and treatment programs, research and activities. It also will prioritize policy-related issues like strengthening the public health workforce and addressing novel threats such as the increasing rates of congenital syphilis.
We spoke with coalition co-chairs Adriane Casalotti, MPH, MSW, chief of government and public affairs at the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and Stephanie S. Arnold Pang, director of policy and government relations at the National Coalition of STD Directors, about the coalition’s goals and expected impact on the ongoing STI epidemics. – by Eamon Dreisbach
Q: What was the inspiration behind the coalition?
A: After years of dramatic increases, STIs have reached all-time highs in the U.S. In late 2019, officials at the NIH deemed the rise of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis a “major public health crisis.”
Q: Why a coalition?
A: National public policy and funding decisions by Congress and the administration have a profound impact on how we can respond to this important public health issue. We need to ensure that they are informed by the best science to truly address these crisis levels. By building a coalition of public health, health care providers and other advocacy organizations, we will help ensure that the many stakeholders who work in this space each day can speak with one voice as we work to inform federal policymakers about what is needed to truly address this crisis. The coalition will advocate for increased funding and education and a national policy response that has all agencies of the federal government working together to address this public health emergency. Our nation’s response to the STI epidemics in America will be strengthened by the work of this coalition.
Q: What will the coalition do?
A: The coalition will engage in advocacy and policy work at the national level. Whether through joint statements or letters, or in-person meetings with policymakers, this coalition aims to increase access to STI prevention resources and strengthen federal policies and funding for STI prevention, care and research.
Q: Who is funding the coalition?
A: The coalition is supported through the in-kind donation of its members’ staff time, energy and passion for the cause. There is no formal funding for the coalition; rather, it is a recognition by the individual member organizations that this cause matters, it needs our focus and that it’s worth the fight by coming together to combine the policy, communications and education resources of each of its members.
Q: How can clinicians who are not members of the coalition or its affiliated organizations help the cause?
A: We encourage anyone interested in supporting this cause to contact us and share your expertise or questions. (Editor’s note: See below for Casalotti’s and Pang’s emails.) Clinicians can also join as individual members many of the national organizations who are members of the coalition. For more membership information, go to the websites of our individual members. (Editor’s note: Members include the coalition are Advocates for Youth, The AIDS Institute, American Sexual Health Association, American STD Association, Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, HIV Medicine Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, NASTAD, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Coalition of STD Directors, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, NMAC, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, and Treatment Action Group.)
Q: What is the take-home message for clinicians?
A: We all have a role to play in combating the STI crisis. Broad-based national medical and public health organizations have a responsibility in combating STIs by supporting education of their clinical members about how to increase STI screening, conduct sexual health assessments, treat STIs or refer to specialty clinics or providers when needed.
For more information:
Adriane Casalotti, MPH, MSW, can be reached at acasalotti@naccho.org.
Stephanie S. Arnold Pang can be reached at sarnold@ncsddc.org.
Reference:
CDC. 2018 STD Surveillance Report. https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2019/2018-STD-surveillance-report.html. Accessed February 11, 2020.
Disclosures: Casalotti and Pang report no relevant financial disclosures.