Press Releases

Take action against HIV/AIDS on Awareness Day

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

March 10 marks National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an annual, nationwide observance to raise awareness of the impact HIV/AIDS has on women and girls. This year, we are asking individuals and organizations across the country, "What can YOU do?" and encouraging them to take action.

Bringing attention to HIV/AIDS in women and girls is particularly important. Women account for an estimated 27 percent of new HIV infections in the United States each year and 25 percent of those living with HIV. Many women do not know they are infected.

So far, more than 200 organizations are participating in this annual observance by hosting educational, awareness and testing events at the community level.

This National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I challenge everyone to take action against HIV/AIDS. Understand how it impacts women and girls, get tested, know your status, learn how to protect yourself, and spread the word to your family and friends.

To learn more about National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and to see how organizations are joining OWH in taking action, visit www.womenshealth.gov/nwghaad.

Also, to learn about the White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Implementation Plan, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/onap/nhas/.

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health.

OWH awarded $1.6 million to launch a new gender-based national initiative to improve the health of women and girls

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) launched a new gender-based national initiative entitled the Coalition for a Healthier Community (CHC). It builds upon previous programs developed by OWH: the 48 Multidisciplinary Health Models for Women Sites Throughout the US (1996-2007) and Advancing System Improvements to Support Targets for Healthy People 2010 (ASIST2010) (2007-2010).

OWH, which leads the initiative, has selected 16 organizations throughout various regions of the country to begin the planning phase of the grant. This initiative will encourage collaborative efforts to help improve overall community health policies and gender-based health care programs for women.

For Phase I of this cooperative agreement, a total of $1.6 million dollars was awarded to organizations that use a collaborative approach with existing local coalitions. The selected coalitions were each awarded $100,000 for one year to support the planning of gender-based health interventions targeting women, girls, or both. During this phase, each coalition will work on two activities: to identify the health condition having the most adverse effect on the health and well-being of these populations in their community and to subsequently develop a strategy that will address the health condition.

These awards will help communities determine which chronic health conditions are most prevalent among their female residents, how to address the health needs of this population, and then implement a plan to improve health outcomes," said Frances Ashe-Goins, Acting Director for the Office on Women's Health.

The 16 awardees are as follows: (more detail)

Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, Inc. (Manhattan, NY)
Regents of the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
Rockingham Memorial Hospital (Harrisonburg, VA)
East of the River Action for Substance Abuse Elimination (East Hartford, CT)
Philadelphia Health and Education Corporation d/b/a Drexel University College (Philadelphia, PA)
Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)
National Kidney Foundation (Ann Arbor, MI)
Brandywine Counseling & Community Services, Inc. (Wilmington, DE)
Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Women's Health Services (Santa Fe, NM)
Domestic Violence Action Center (Honolulu, HI)
The Family League of Baltimore City, Inc. (Baltimore, MD)
St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation (Billings, MT)
University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Chicago, IL)
Thurston County Public Health & Social Services (Olympia, WA)

About the Office on Women's Health

The Office on Women's Health (OWH) was established in 1991. OWH coordinates the efforts of all the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' agencies and offices involved in women's health. The office works to improve the health and well-being of women and girls in the United States through its programs, by educating health professionals, and motivating behavior change in consumers through the dissemination of health information.

Office on Women's Health awards $800,000 to support health and wellness activities for women attending minority institutions

Tue, 1 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) launched the Health and Wellness Initiative for Women Attending Minority Institutions in September 2010 with $800,000 in grant awards. The OWH leads this initiative designed to use a multi-level approach to disease prevention and health promotion, with activities that are gender-responsive, culturally and linguistically appropriate, age-appropriate, and student-driven.

OWH awarded a total of eight grants of $100,000 each to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to work across the campus community. The initiative fosters partnerships and collaborations with local health service organizations to encourage a collegiate culture of health, wellness, and safety.

“Women of color experience many of the same health problems as other women. But we know they often have poorer health and use fewer health services. By reaching out to these women in their younger years, we hope to educate them in ways to improve and protect their health,” said Frances Ashe-Goins, Acting Director of the Office on Women’s Health.

The eight grantees follow:

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
The Wright Group-Clark Atlanta and Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA)
Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA)
Benedict College (Columbia, SC)
Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, FL)

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
The University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso, TX)
SUAGM, Inc. dba Universidad del Turabo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico)

Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)
National Indian Women's Health Resource Center-Northeastern State University (Tahlequah, OK)
Northwest Indian College (Bellingham, WA)

About the Office on Women's Health