• Chair:        CDR Melissa Briggs Hagen
• Co-Chair:  CDR Valerie Marshall

BCOAG's Health Disparity Committee is responsible for executing the following changes and goals:

• Coordinating comprehensive dissemination of health-related topics in observance of National Health Observances.
• Coordinating health disparities presentations for BCOAG and to the broader community, including college visits.
• Collaborate with BCOAG Community Outreach Committee to facilitate volunteer service activities related to health disparities.
• Provide educational resources and materials on overall health and well-being by providing informational Fact Sheets that focus on diseases disproportionately affect the African American community.  These Fact Sheets can be disseminated via community outreach events (i.e., faith organizations, health fairs, community centers, sororities/fraternities). 

Fact sheets on Health Disparities amoung African Americans:

• HIV / AIDS
• Fact sheets and Resources

Announcement:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health created the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). OMH responded by setting initial NPA goals and sought to establish the priorities for a national strategy using a community-oriented approach.  A National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity (NSS) was developed. The NSS provides a common set of goals and objectives for public and private sector initiatives to eliminate health disparities. A second outcome is the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, which was released together with the NSS. The HHS Action Plan is the first HHS action plan to reduce disparities. It complements the NSS. To learn more about the NSS and the HHS Action Plan, visit the NPA Resources page.

More Information and Contact:

• Executive Secretary: LCDR Kimberly Evans
• Internal Outreach to BCOAG Team Lead: CDR Valerie Marshall
• External Outreach to BCOAG Team Lead:  LCDR Ngozi Mezu-Patel 
• Health Disparities Webpage Team Lead: LCDR Felicia Peterson
• Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) Subcommittee Lead: LT Latoya Jacobs-Kibble
• Operations and Strategic Planning Liaison: LCDR Jonetta Mpofu

If you are interested in participating with the Health Disparity Committee or would like more information, please contact the Health Disparity Committee Chair, CDR Melissa Briggs Hagen at vka5@cdc.gov or Co-Chair, CDR Valerie Marshall at Valerie.Marshall@hhs.gov.