U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock tours the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what was his first visit since taking office. Photo courtesy of the CDC
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock met Friday with leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a push to bolster funding for the Atlanta-based facility.
President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for the CDC represents a nearly $500 million increase, including spending bumps for programs focused on violence prevention and immunization.
Warnock’s visit, which was his first since taking office in 2021, featured stops at the emergency operations center and the insectary where research on mosquitos is all the buzz.
But discussing the CDC’s work on maternal health was the top priority for the senator during the visit. The agency’s budget request includes $118 million for programs addressing maternal and infant health, which represents about a $10 million increase.
“We have a crisis in our country. We’ve had it for a very long time. Way too many women die just trying to bring a baby in the world,” Warnock told reporters in brief remarks after his visit.
Last year, a report on maternal deaths in Georgia captured a 20% increase during a three-year period that included the first year of the pandemic. Many of the deaths were ruled preventable by the state maternal mortality review committee.
From a national perspective, a report released in May by the CDC found that the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. improved after spiking during the pandemic. But racial disparities in the U.S. maternal mortality rates continue to persist, with Black women dying at higher rates than white women.
“The United States of America has the unenviable distinction of having our maternal mortality rates much higher than any of the other Western wealthy nations. It is particularly acute in the South,” Warnock said. “And for Black women, the rate is as much as three times the rate of their white sisters, even when they have the income and the insurance. That’s intolerable.”
Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, said the agency is working with hospitals to keep more moms and babies safe through perinatal quality collaboratives, but she hopes to grow the maternal and infant health programs to reach more people.
“We would love to continue to do this work to expand to more hospitals in more states so that everybody has access to safe and quality maternal care,” Houry said Friday.
SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST.
The post Warnock meets with CDC leaders in push to increase federal funding for the public health agency appeared first on Georgia Recorder.