Governor Proclaims Health Equity Month 2024

HEALTH EQUITY MONTH

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the health and well-being of all North Carolinians are key to the prosperity and vitality of our state; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina is becoming increasingly diverse, with 38 percent of residents identified as members of racial and ethnic minority groups; North Carolina is also diverse through geography, religion, language, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, disability, and immigration status, as well as other groups that are identified as historically marginalized; and

WHEREAS, historically marginalized people often face preventable differences in their health due to structural disadvantages and diminished opportunities in health care, education, social support, economic stability, and the environment, highlighting the need for dedicated efforts to achieve health equity; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services established the Secretary’s Health Equity Portfolio with its first Chief Health Equity Officer to champion equitable health outcomes for North Carolinians; it is comprised of three offices – the Office of Rural Health, a new Office of People, Culture, and Belonging, and the Office of Health Equity; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Health Equity strives to promote and advocate for the elimination of disparities and improve health equity, with a vision for all North Carolinians to have the opportunity to attain the highest level of good health possible regardless of race/ethnicity, disability, sexuality and gender identity, socioeconomic status, or other differences; and

WHEREAS, April presents a valuable opportunity to raise awareness and advance understanding of health disparities and the steps necessary to eliminate them; and

WHEREAS, recognizing the significance of collaborative action, we acknowledge the collective responsibility to create a system promoting whole person health that serves all residents equitably; and

WHEREAS, by declaring April as Health Equity Month, we commit to promoting initiatives, policies, and practices that address the root causes of health disparities and foster a healthier, more equitable future for all;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim April, 2024, as “HEALTH EQUITY MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

                                                                           ________________________________________

                                                                                                           Roy Cooper

                                                                                                              Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-seventh day of March in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.