In April, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Minority Health and their partners work to raise awareness about health disparities, especially those which impact racial and ethnic minorities. National Minority Health Month was established to help give everyone have equal access to services to improve their health. The three main objectives outlined in a statement by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius inlcude:
- to improve minority health
- to advance health equity
- and to eliminate health disparities. (HHS News Release, 2013)
The theme for National Minority Health Month 2013 is "Advance Health Equity Now: Uniting our communities to bring health care coverage to all". The theme represents a call to action for each of us to come together to improve the overall health of our communities for all community members. Partnering organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also have activities ongoing in April for National Minority Health Month.
To learn more about National Minority Health Month, click here. To learn more about health disparity reduction efforts by the Office of Minority Health, click here.