Press Releases - 9/28/05
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 09/28/05 HEALTH OFFICIALS CALL FOR NEIGHBORHOOD APPROACH TO PREVENT MORE KATRINAS, REDUCE DISPARITIES Washington, DC (September 28, 2005)—The nation's top organization of local public health experts recommended today placing more resources and control over emergency response decision making, planning, and zoning, into the hands of neighborhood groups. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) said a neighborhood-based approach would reduce inequalities laid bare by Hurricane Katrina and the troubled emergency response to the storm. Releasing a package of ten new recommendations, NACCHO leaders expressed confidence that the country "can prevent the outcome experienced during Katrina from recurring." But that will require "dismantling" a solid structure of inequities, the group said. The package includes building "an organized neighborhood emergency response infrastructure by placing resources more directly under the control of neighborhood councils that can identify and remedy community needs and vulnerabilities at the block level." "The distribution of critical social resources in this country is not arbitrary," said NACCHO board member, Dr. Tony Iton. "Until we develop effective strategies for confronting structural poverty, segregation, and persistent forms of racism, we will not be successful in creating healthy communities in this country." Also included in the package is a recommendation advocating "public spending and investment in the infrastructure to ensure safe and clean neighborhoods." In a statement containing the recommendations, NACCHO described a pattern of "resource deprivation" faced by poor Americans as a public health problem. "People who are deprived of access to important resources (education, jobs, decent housing, etc.) are much more likely to experience poor health," said the group. Discriminatory practices, and not just "bureaucratic incompetence," caused the disproportionate suffering by poor people in Katrina's path, the statement explained. The group stated that "a strong research base documents that social and economic inequality are at the root of health inequalities." These inequalities of race and class "are cumulative across generations," it added. Other recommendations include:
The recommendations would apply to New Orleans and other communities in the Gulf Coast region damaged by Katrina. The statement referred to these areas as "treasured places." The statement further called for "concerted efforts to invest in poor people in disadvantaged neighborhoods," partly by supporting local leadership. The statement also backed non-discriminatory zoning regulations. And, it said that the Gulf Coast region should be converted from a highly polluted area with excess cancer rates to a cleaner, safer environment. NACCHO is the national organization representing the nation's nearly 3,000 local health departments. These agencies work every day on the front lines to protect and promote the health of their communities. NACCHO develops resources and programs and promotes national policies that support effective local public health practice. ###
Contacts Chuck Alexander or Jennifer Hudman |