Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Releases Principles for State and Local Leaders in Responding to, Reopening and Recovering from COVID-19

PRINCETON, N.J., June 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- COVID-19 has unleashed a dual threat in the United States: a pandemic that has sickened millions and killed more than 100,000, and an economic downturn that has resulted in tens of millions of people losing jobs. 

This pandemic has revealed how our health is linked to our neighbors, family and friends, to child- and adult-care providers, to co-workers, school teachers, delivery people, grocery clerks, factory workers, and first responders. It has shown that our current health and economic systems do not adequately or equitably protect our well-being. It has also shown that some communities in America suffer more than others: People of color are dying in disproportionate numbers, and the economic downturn is falling hardest on those who live in poverty and lack necessities like a living wage, health insurance, or paid sick leave. As states begin to reopen, it is crucial that every community and resident recover fully and fairly from the pandemic.

To help state and local leaders do this, RWJF unveiled a set of five principles to ensure that every community and individual has a fair and just opportunity to live a healthy life.

RWJF's Health Equity Principles for State and Local Leaders in Responding to, Reopening, and Recovering from COVID-19 include:

• Strengthening and broadening data collection, analyzing, and reporting so that policymakers know who is impacted and where to target resources;
• Addressing racial disparities and barriers to opportunities for good health or social well-being;
• Bringing local residents most affected by the crisis into the process around policy and funding decisions;
• Ensuring policy responses proactively keep equity front and center; and
• Prioritizing and investing in public health and social infrastructure, like paid sick and family leave, broadband, and Medicaid expansion, to foster resilience.

"These principles are designed around a simple yet essential premise: Every reopening and recovery plan must prioritize the health and well-being of those who have been hit the hardest and communities that have historically been left behind," said Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC. "If governments start with the needs that are hardest to meet, systems will be built that meet the needs of all."

The full text of RWJF's health equity principles are here. For more information, or to speak to someone at the Foundation, contact [email protected] or visit rwjf.org.

SOURCE Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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www.rwjf.org