Advocates discuss importance of heath accessibility in marginalized communities

DOVER, Del. – April is National Minority Health Month, and advocacy groups have been hosting events to educate the community.

The discussion of health equity has been permeating throughout the nation, especially when it comes to the inequalities that minority communities face.  Local groups have banned together to address this current situation that is affecting all parts of the country.

The Division of Health and Human Services sponsored a Health Equity Summit this week in Dover. The conference focused on LGBTQ+ health equity, but also discussed issues that affect age, race, and ethnicity. They also partnered with other activist organizations such as Sussex Pride, to further their reach in the community.

David Mariner, Executive Director, describes what he believes are pertinent issues in the area: “To be honest, I don’t know of many LGBTQ+ folks that are going to that conference because there aren’t many LGBTQ+ organizations that are funded to do health work here in Delaware, and that needs to change.”

Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Rachel L. Levine, who has gone on record for speaking out against health disparages in the Transgender and minority communities, was a guest speaker at the Summit. In recent years, Admiral Levine said, “Despite the progress that has been made, the most vulnerable among us continue to suffer, including transgender women of color, transgender youth, transgender immigrants, and so much more. We must do more. We need to create healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy nation for all.”

Mariner went on the describe some of the things Secretary Levine has accomplished in other areas. “Dr. Rachel Levine, when she was in Pennsylvania, did all of the things that Delaware has not yet done around health equity for LGBT folks. They have a governor’s commission on LGBTQ health equity, they release regular health reports to identify health disparities, and they commit financial resources to that work.”

Members of the community may be asking: what is health equity and what does this mean for our community?

Delaware Department of Health and Social Services describes health equity as the absence of systematic disparities in health between groups with different levels of underlying social advantage or disadvantage. This can be a mix of wealth, power, or prestige. Social Determinants of Health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, and worship, that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

The ultimate question is, can we as a collective achieve health equity? According to the CDC, health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to “attain his or her full health potential” and no one is “disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances.”

Many lawmakers and grassroots organizations are determined to push for equity and stand against health inequality.