Strengthening Digital Health Technology Capacity in Navajo Communities to Help Counter the COVID-19 Pandemic.

"Author disclosures are available with the text of this article at www.atsjournals.org."

"The Navajo Nation was allocated over $600 million from the CARES Act. Delays in funding, due to legal challenges, and refusal to release sensitive tribal information that Native communities needed to fight the disease may have resulted in increased illness and death (). There has been widespread support in the Navajo Nation to use the funds to pay for critical infrastructure. A majority has been allocated for water projects, such as portable water storage, hand-washing stations, and shower units (). The CARES Act fund simultaneously allocated financing for technology infrastructure, recognizing the importance of both projects to the Navajo people. Urgent requests were also made to use funds for personal protective equipment, food distribution, and disinfection of government offices. In August of 2020, the Navajo Nation allocated $32 million from the CARES Act to increase internet services, broadband expansion, and mobile towers. In October of 2020, another $18 million was allocated to provide more internet services to the Navajo Nation (). Funding from the CARES Act was significant and welcome, but it only begins to address the challenges faced by the Navajo Nation. Additional Congressional bills pertinent to Native people have been submitted () (). Supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health grant 3U01GM132175-02S1 (A.S.)."