Welcome to the
National Health Policy Training Alliance
for Communities of Color

Racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States continue to experience major differences in health status, treatment, and outcomes when compared to whites. The forces that contribute to health disparities are complex, ranging from broader societal issues such as poverty, racism, and hazardous environments, to health system factors such as lack of health care coverage, lack of workforce diversity, and a weakening safety net. Oftentimes, when vital health policies and programs are being debated, the voices of communities of color are left out.

The National Health Policy Training Alliance for Communities of Color was created to make clear the link between efforts to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and the role of health policymaking, as well as to ensure that community leaders have the tools, information, and resources they need to address these issues. This initiative is a unique partnership between ACCESS Community Health & Research Center, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Families USA, the Joint Center Health Policy Institute (HPI), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and the National Medical Association (NMA). It is generously funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The overarching mission of the Alliance is to empower community leaders, elected officials, and journalists from communities of color with pertinent information about health policy developments in order to:

• expand their capacity to address and catalyze action on crucial health and health care issues;
• bolster the skills of leaders from communities of color to play a more influential role in shaping and creating health policies that are of relevance to their respective communities; and
• engage diverse leaders in national health policy development.  

The Latest 

• Date: September 7, 2011
• Time: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm ET
• Location: Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC
• Purpose: To address the relationship between place and health, particularly as it pertains to racial and ethnic health inequities.

Recent Publications

How Health Reform Helps Communities of Color is a series of state-based fact sheets that discuss how provisions in the Affordable Care Act--both those for the general public and those specifically designed to eliminate health disparities--help communities of color in each state. (Families USA, September-October 2010)

How Health Reform Helps . . . is a series of fact sheets that highlight how the new health reform law will help America's communities of color by expanding coverage, increasing funding for community health centers, and providing grants for workforce diversity. (Families USA, September 2010) African Americans l American Indians and Native Alaskans l Asian Americans l Latinos l Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

Internship and Fellowship Opportunities

Each of the Health Policy Alliance partners sponsor various internship and fellowship programs for advocates, journalists, health providers, and students. Please contact the following individuals for information on their organization’s internship and fellowship programs:

• Families USA: Melissa Rosenblatt (mrosenblatt@familiesusa.org)
• National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials: Stephanie Ramirez (sramirez@naleo.org)
• National Medical Association: Byron Sogie-Thomas (bsogie-thomas@nmanet.org)
• The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: Carla Gullat (cgullat@jointcenter.org)

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