This annual report examines federal, state and local public health funding trends and recommends investments and policy actions to build a stronger public health system, prioritize prevention, and address the ways in which social and economic inequities create barriers to good health.

According to the report’s authors, the missteps of the 2020 COVID-19 response were rooted in a public health system weakened by years of underfunding, the federal government’s failure to communicate and follow the best available science, and, health inequities that put communities of color and Tribal Nations at particular risk.

The report also highlights the need for the public health system to be ready to prevent and respond to a spectrum of risks, from weather-related emergencies to the rising number of drug overdoses, to increasing rates of obesity and resulting chronic diseases.

Read the report >>