The non-governmental organization (NGO) Trust for America’s Health published a report in April 2013 criticizing the low funding for public health in the U.S.. In 2012 federal public health spending amounted to only USD 19.54/ person. The NGO concludes that focus continues to be placed on disease treatment rather than disease prevention. As such, the budget of the Center of Disease Control (CDC), the primary distributor of federal public health funds, has been cut from 7.31 to 6.13 in between 2005 and 2012. As core functions in protecting public health can currently not be met, the Trust for America’s Health demands that funding shall be increased, but shall also be stable in order to support essential public health services. The organization sees disease prevention, a curbing of the obesity and the reduction of smoking rates as the most important objectives of a national prevention strategy.

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Trust for America’s Health – report

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