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Office on Women’s Health Awards $4.1 Million to Reduce Maternal Deaths Due to Violence

Office on Women’s Health Awards $4.1 Million to Reduce Maternal Deaths Due to Violence

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health recently announced the State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal Partnership Programs to Reduce Maternal Deaths Due to Violence. The funding opportunity will provide more than $4.1 million in cooperative agreement awards to reduce deaths among pregnant and post-partum women due to violence.

Violence is a significant, and often overlooked, contributor to maternal mortality. Although data are limited, emerging state-level research shows more maternal deaths result from homicide than hypertensive disorders such as high blood pressure and preeclampsia.

OWH is excited to announce that 14 organizations were awarded up to $300,000 to develop and implement interventions to reduce maternal deaths due to violence, specifically homicide and suicide, based on data specific to their geographic area. They are also expected to sustain interventions that significantly improve health outcomes.

These efforts align with OWH's work to support new and innovative programs in health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and provide for the exchange of information. The cooperative agreements will support endeavors to better understand the scope of violence-induced maternal deaths and how they may be prevented.

“Developing evidence-based interventions that identify diversity and equity issues is critical to reducing violent deaths among pregnant and postpartum women,” said Dorothy Fink, M.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health and Director of the Office on Women’s Health. “We look forward to working with the awardees to ensure expectant and new mothers have the support they need to thrive.”

The partnership programs began September 2021 and will continue for up to five years. The 14 applicants who were selected for funding are listed below in alphabetical order.

  1. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Anchorage, AK
  2. Family Tree Information Education & Counseling Center, Lafayette, LA
  3. City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
  4. Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc, Glastonbury, CT
  5. Indiana State Department of Health, Indianapolis, IN
  6. Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, KS
  7. Louisiana Department of Health, New Orleans, LA
  8. Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, MN
  9. Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI
  10. Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, TN
  11. Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
  12. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
  13. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
  14. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, VA

For more information on the State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal Partnership Programs, email.