HRSA and IHS Officials Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
to Collaborate on HIV/AIDS Initiatives for American Indian/Alaska
Natives
On
June 7, 2007, senior officials of the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) signed a 3-year MOU to collaborate
on multiple HIV/AIDS initiatives for the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)
population. The mission statements of the IHS and HRSA both strongly support
a common basis for collaborative activities designed to improve the health of
AI/ANs. Specifically, the IHS HIV/AIDS Program and HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau
(HAB) have unique resources to employ for HIV/AIDS initiatives that may result
in more efficient and effective programs to benefit Native people.
Historically, the IHS and HRSA have collaborated on interagency initiatives
to include work within the realm of HIV/AIDS. IHS and HRSA both receive
Minority AIDS Initiative (MAl) funding aimed at reducing disparities by improving
the health outcomes of minority populations, including AI/AN populations infected
or affected by HIVIAIDS. This funding provides
another way that collaborations can and have been established.
The purpose of
this MOU is to (1) officially affirm a collaboration between IHS and HRSA relative
to select projects targeted to AI/ANs who would benefit from this collaborative
partnership; (2) integrate and enumerate these collaborations to support strategic
planning within the IHS HIV/AIDS program and the HRSAHIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB); and
(3) identify ways that both agencies can work together to effectively meet the
goals of improving the health outcomes of racial/ethnic minority populations,
including AI/ANs. Collaboration between the two agencies will result in increased
awareness of common resources, decreased duplication of effort, and increased
integration and quality of services to AI/AN populations as well as affirm the
need for a sustainable partnership between agencies.
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