The health equity community is buzzing over the announcement by Sanofi of the winners of this year’s Health Equity Accelerator Awards. Ten nonprofit organizations have been named for their innovative work in expanding access to healthcare in disciplines that exhibit high rates of material health disparities.
This year’s competition was notably selective, with more than 110 U.S. advocacy organizations applying for the prestigious recognition. Applications were reviewed by leading health equity professionals from a broad range of organizations and geographies. Criteria for selection included a focus on specific underrepresented populations, quality and feasibility of action plans to address relevant health inequities, and measurable goals and deliverables on the solutions designed to improve health equity among those populations.
The healthcare areas targeted by the awardees’ solutions include hemophilia, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, diabetes and transplant surgery, all of which have exhibited disproportionately high rates of disparities in patient outcomes across varying marginalized populations.
These awardees are emblematic of the great work currently undertaken by so many local, statewide and national organizations focused on reducing health disparities and driving greater access and awareness to improved health care, particularly for historically underrepresented and marginalized populations. They represent robust role models for driving improvement in health equity in the months and years ahead.
