Events Commemorate National Minority Health Month, Minority Cancer Awareness Week; Grants Awarded for Black, Hispanic Efforts

The following summarizes recent news coverage of events and initiatives focused on minority health issues around the nation.

• American Cancer Society: ACS as a part of Minority Cancer Awareness Week, April 15 through April 21, is calling attention to the need for improved access to cancer education, screening, prevention and treatment in the minority community. As part of the effort, ACS will host a weeklong cancer disparities conference in New Orleans April 18 through April 20 that will feature as keynote speaker the Rev. Jesse Jackson, RainbowPUSH Coalition president and founder (ACS release, 4/9).
  
  
• Baltimore: Mayor Sheila Dixon on Thursday announced a new heart health awareness effort aimed at minorities, the Baltimore Examiner reports. According to Dixon, the city will work with the federal government and the city health department on a campaign promoting good nutrition and exercise (Janis, Baltimore Examiner, 4/13).
  
  
• Buncombe County, N.C.: A $360,000 grant from the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund will go toward increasing enrollment in a program that seeks to address health disparities among the black community, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. The grant will help enroll during the next three years 1,200 additional participants in the Parity Achievement Community Empowerment program, a partnership between the Buncombe County Medical Society and the Asheville-Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement that focuses on improving blacks' health outcomes for diabetes, prostate cancer and breast cancer (Bompey, Asheville Citizen-Times, 4/11).
  
  
• Indiana: The Indiana Department of Health's Office of Minority Health is commemorating National Minority Health Month by hosting events across the state that aim to increase awareness about diseases that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, the Terre Haute Tribune-Star reports. Events will include workshops, cultural competency training and other activities that promote disease prevention and education (Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 4/5).
  
  
• NIH: The agency has created a Spanish-language version of the National Cancer Institute Web site in part to raise awareness about cancer prevention in the Hispanic community. The Web site provides information for various types of cancer, aims to dispel cancer myths, guides users to other cancer resources and shares testimonials from Hispanics who have had cancer (Shehan, All Headline News, 4/12).
  
  
• Ventura County, Calif.: The Ventura County Community Foundation's Destino Hispanic Legacy Fund has awarded eight grants totaling more than $80,000 to programs that address health issues in the Hispanic community, the Ventura County Star reports. The programs focus on addressing obesity, sexually transmitted infections and access to higher education (Ventura County Star, 4/5).