Georgia celebrates minority health month

April 01, 2008 11:08 am

— ATLANTA – Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) in conjunction with its community partners is celebrating Minority Health Month this year through a thirty-day health promotion and disease prevention campaign entitled “Striving for Health Equity in Georgia.”
“Educating the community about the health issues impacting our minority populations is a critical step in creating change and improving the health of our citizens,” said DCH Commissioner Dr. Rhonda Medows.
The campaign will consist of a variety of events and activities sponsored by DCH’s Office of Health Improvements (OHI) throughout the state during Minority Health Month. Some of the events include free, anonymous HIV testing, health fairs/seminars and free screenings for glucose, blood pressure and BMI.
“I encourage everyone to attend one or more of these events and make a commitment to improve their health,” said Dr. Medows. “Taking better care of our health benefits not only ourselves, but our family and community.”
During this month, OHI and the Georgia Minority Health Advisory Council will release the 2008 Georgia Health Disparities Report, which will provide an in-depth look at health inequalities in each of Georgia's 159 counties.
“We hope that this monumental report will empower policymakers and local community leaders to take a hard look at health disparities and join DCH’s efforts in achieving better health outcomes for all Georgia’s minority populations,” said James Peoples, Director of the OHI.
In April 2001, National Minority Health Month was launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a rebirth of Booker T. Washington’s initiative of 1915 to implement a National Negro Health Week. National Minority Health Month has been recognized by the U.S. Congress as an important, well-organized effort to eliminate disparities across the country.

For more information about the scheduled Minority Health Month activities, visit www.dch.georgia.gov.