The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is heading an effort that invests more than $185 million in HIV prevention programs among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, with an emphasis on MSM of color.

According to a CDC press release, it will provide $125 million over three years to state and local health departments that promote pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among HIV-negative groups at high risk. Funds will also go to strategies that keep HIV-positive people connected to care and treatment.

The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund (SMAIF) is investing $60.5 million over four years for new prevention approaches relevant to MSM of color.

In the United States, MSM comprise about 2 percent of the population but account for about 70 percent of new HIV case. What’s more, nearly two-thirds of those newly diagnosed MSM are men of color. Overall, about half of the country’s 1.2 million people living with HIV are MSM.

“Science tells us that increasing PrEP access and engaging more HIV-positive people in care and treatment could prevent tens of thousands of new HIV infections, but these strategies remain underused,” said Eugene McCray, MD, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, in the press release. “This new funding will drive wider adoption where it’s urgently needed and provide lessons on how to improve uptake nationwide.”