Health Programs

The NAACP brings our national voice to assist in the eradication of these racial and ethnic disparities, with a focus not only on disease prevention, but on the social and environmental factors that affect health and wellness.

The NAACP is committed to eliminating the racial and ethnic disparities in our health care system that plague people of color in the United States. African Americans continue to have the highest incidence, prevalence and mortality rates from chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Additionally issues like HIV and infant mortality have continued to overwhelm the Black community. Systemic imbalances in the health care delivery system disproportionately affect African Americans and Latinas more than their White counterparts.

In addition the NAACP is engaged in the workforce development movement to increase the number of minorities represented in the medical and public health profession, and a leading presence on governmental advisory workgroups and national coalitions developed to provide counsel on cultural competency in the health care system.

Blog Posts

Posted on May 23, 2012

Shavon Arline-Bradley Talks Health with The Loop 21

"It was a no-brainer for me to be involved in a 100-year-old organization that had never lost its brand name."

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Derek E. Spencer, CRNP Executive Director of the JACQUES Initiative Institute of Human Virology University of Maryland School of Medicine

The Responsibility of Our Greatness

Dimmed lights, an open bar and sophisticated seating areas with sheer drapes surround me as I stand on a dance floor in an elite night club. I am here to be honored for my work in HIV. Before me stand a host of beautiful young black people, gathered to acknowledge World AIDS Day and the impact of HIV in our community

Posted on January 09, 2012 by Sheldon D. Fields, PhD, ARNP, FNP-BC, AACRN, DPNAP, FAANP, Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs and Health Policy ,Florida International University

The Lives of Young Black Gay Men Matter

When new [HIV] infections in young Black gay men increase by nearly 50 percent in 3 years we need to do more to show them that their lives matter." -President Barack Obama, December 1, 2011

Posted on January 03, 2012 by Dázon Dixon Diallo, MPH Founder/President SisterLove, Inc. Atlanta, GA

Prevent Insanity and Stop Being Stupid – Change What You Do

I have been a part of the fight to end AIDS for over 27 years, and in the words of the NAACP, “Much has changed, much has not!” Our people still act as if the AIDS epidemic belongs to someone else.

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