Are You Ready to Take Action for Health Equity?

During April, the Office of Minority Health marks National Minority Health Month.

Despite our nation’s progress toward ending health disparities, racial and ethnic minorities still lag behind the U.S. population as a whole on many health fronts:

• HIV mortality rates in Black communities declined by 28% from 2008 to 2012, but Blacks still have higher HIV infection and mortality rates than other groups.
• Hispanics are 30 percent more likely to have a stroke than non-Hispanics.
• Asian Americans are 5.5 times more likely to develop chronic Hepatitis B than whites.
• American Indian/Alaska Native adults are over twice as likely as white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes.

The effect of health disparities is far too costly to ignore. Studies have shown health inequities cost the economy an estimated $300 billion per year. This, coupled with the number lives lost too soon to preventable causes, makes health disparities an issue relevant to all Americans.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (also known as the Heckler Report).This landmark report marked the first convening of a group of health experts by the U.S. government to conduct a comprehensive study of racial and ethnic minority health and elevated minority health to a national stage.

This milestone anniversary serves as a paramount opportunity to highlight national and local efforts towards eliminating health disparities and advancing health equity, including legislative policy and actions such as the Affordable Care Act, the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities.

Everyone has a role to play in reducing health disparities. Together, we can accelerate the momentum towards achieving a nation free of disparities in health and health care.

We invite you to join us during National Minority Health Month in taking action for health equity. Please sign up for the Take Action for Health Equity Thunderclap.

Richard Washington is the Digital Media Specialist at the Office of Minority Health Resource Center