A Breath of Fresh Air

Today I was afforded the opportunity, through Mocha Moms, to attend the release of the Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities. This Action Plan is a result of the collaborative inter-agency Asthma Disparities Working Group and part of President Obama's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The agencies involved are the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  By partnering, these agencies are aiming to increase coordination of Federal programs in order to target the appropriate asthma treatment to those who need it the most.

The event was held at THEARC in SE Washington, DC. Given the largely African American demographic of the area, the location was certainly appropriate. I would like to have seen a larger representation of this community within the event, but there were several children and community leaders present.  As I mentioned in my last post, many studies have proven that urban minority populations are at a greater risk for asthma and other respiratory ailments. What is even more disconcerting is the fact that even though black people are more likely to contract asthma, we are least likely to receive adequate treatment for it. Shaun Donovan, Secretary of HUD stated that an individual's life span can be predicted based on what zip code that person lives in, and in the case of asthma, this indicator is even more clear.  He went on to say that mold and cigarette smoke are triggers of asthma and if one lives in poverty, the chances are higher that these triggers will be encountered.  

Secretaries Kathleen Sebelius (HHS) and Lisa P. Jackson (EPA) both recounted personal stories of having a brother and child, respectively, who suffer from asthma.  I certainly empathize with them both as my own brother and husband were chronic asthma sufferers as children.  I can certainly recall holding the mask for a nebulizer for my two-year old brother while he struggled to keep still long enough to receive this necessary treatment.  As I think on all the information I have gained recently regarding asthma, I can't help but wonder if there could have been more done for him.  I'm so thankful that he and my husband are managing their asthma successfully as adults and can only pray that this initiative can begin to close the gap on racial asthma disparities.

On a lighter note, Secretary Jackson gave the Mocha Moms a shout out! How cool is that?