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The MWPHA Health Disparities CommitteeWelcome to the MWPHA Health Disparities Committee Web Site. We welcome you to help us fight for social equity.MWPHA organized the Health Disparities Committee in 2002 to provide leadership in addressing the social determinants of health. Issues of poverty, racism, housing, employment and education underlie major health inequalities and health outcomes. Upstream social factors impact dramatically on the downstream health indicators and outcomes. MWPHA focuses on these upstream factors in several ways. We support living wage campaigns, worker demands for health care and better working conditions, and affordable housing. We conduct outreach and education on the social determinants of health through films, exhibits, rallies, and slide shows. Our major efforts focus on HIV because it represents the most severe inequalities in health and society. You can find information on our work below: Events and Activities Projects Meeting Minutes and Reports Joining our listserv Links to related organizations Our Philosophy and Issues Events and Activities Community Outreach – Every third Saturday of the month. Meet at 11:30am at the Washington Highlands Library, 115 Atlantic St. SW (take the A buses from the Anacostia Metro Station). We distribute condoms and HIV information in the neighborhood. Email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to confirm the date. Committee meetings held every 3rd Thursday. Contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to confirm date and place. Community Dialogues with City Council candidates, sponsored by DC Fights Back; see www.dcfightsback.org for the schedule. Projects Save Lives! Free the Condoms! Save Lives: Free the Condoms Coalition is a non-profit grass roots organization under the auspices of the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association (MWPHA). The Coalition’s goal is to improve condom access for everyone because condoms are a proven and effective method for preventing unwanted pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV. The committee is demanding that the CVS drug store chain keep condoms unlocked in all of its stores. See the full story and video at www.savelivesfreethecondoms.org Community Health Advocate Project The National Library of Medicine’s AIDS Community Information Outreach program awarded MWPHA funds to support the dissemination of reliable HIV information to the public. Five community health advocates will join MWPHA to conduct outreach and teach their neighbors and colleagues how to find and use online health information. The Committee will also sponsor a video contest for people to create 2 minute videos that link HIV prevention to the social determinants of housing, jobs, and substance use/drug treatment. See the flyer and this page. The Youth Committee is planning a late summer/early fall event for youth in the District to become engaged in HIV advocacy. See the minutes for the latest update (MINUTES TO COME). Meeting Minutes and Reports August 21, 2008 July 17, 2008 May 28, 2008 October 25, 2007 October 11, 2007 July 25, 2007 June27, 2007 May 23, 2007 April 11, 2007 March 15, 2007 SpeakOUT Demands, November 3, 2007 SpeakOUT Report March and Rally Pictures, November 3, 2007 Housing – Not Stadiums Outreach Rally Pictures, June 21, 2008 Joining our listserv For Committee announcements and planning, join the Health Disparities Committee listserv. To join, Send a message to: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Type: subscribe mwphadisp your name Send To join the MWPHA listserv, just send a blank message to: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Links to related organizations DC Fights Back, www.dcfightsback.org RAP, Regional Addiction Prevention, www.rapinc.org Save Lives! Free the Condoms, www.savelivesfreethecondoms.org Campaign to End AIDS, www.c2ea.org Prevention Justice Mobilization, www.preventionjustice.org CHAMP, www.champnetwork.org Jobs with Justice DC, www.dcjwj.org/ EmpowerDC, www.empowerdc.org APHA, www.apha.org Our Philosophy and Issues HIV is one of the most critical public health issues in the District of Columbia. The lack of an effective public health response has left us with a raging epidemic among our District residents where 1 in 20 people are living with the disease. HIV and AIDS also represent one of the most graphic examples of health inequalities in terms of the people affected and their marginalization. The epidemic raises issues of civil rights for women, LGBT people, people of color, and poor people. Thousands of people have become politicized and engaged in different campaigns to end AIDS. It allows public health activists to address multiple issues, including racism and other social determinants of health. Based on research on the relationship between housing and HIV, outreach discussions, and several community SpeakOUTS, MWPHA has adopted these 4 basic demands to stop HIV:
The visibility of the HIV/AIDS situation in DC increased significantly with the publication of the DC Appleseed Center's August 2005 report, HIV/AIDS in the Nation's Capital: Improving the District of Columbia's Response to a Public Health Crisis (see www.dcappleseed.org). This report and the National Minority AIDS Council’s 2006 publication, HIV and AIDS, Health Disparities and African Americans (see www.nmac.org), call attention to the intersection of racism, mental health, homophobia, substance use, incarceration, and housing. Since Fall 2004, members of the Disparities Committee of MWPHA have been focusing on HIV/AIDS because of the sharp racial disparities in prevalence and outcomes. We have:
Building on the Appleseed Report and a broad experience among residents and providers, MWPHA has the opportunity to join in the advocacy around social and health issues that drive this epidemic and many other health problems. We can contribute by working in academic and grassroots circles. MWPHA can help lead this work by involving multi-racial groups of students and residents, testifying and convening meetings with sharp discussion and demands. Since MWPHA does not have a vested interest in funding and is not worried about stigma associated with HIV that limits politicians and developers, it can advocate for and with those who are stigmatized, fearful, impoverished, sick and marginalized. As we gain experience in arguing and advocating for these issues we will get closer to root causes. What can you do?
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