NCNW STRONG ATTENDANCE AT 15TH ANNUAL NCICP WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Washington, DC (September 16, 2022) — The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) attended the 15h annual National Conference of Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships (NCICP) at the Radisson Blu Mall of America Hotel in Minneapolis, MN. Janice Mathis, Esq., Executive Director, delivered the closing keynote address to an audience of more than 300 scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and immunization coalitions. Good Health Womens Immunization Networks (WINS) brought a delegation of 65 partners to NCICP, including state leaders and NCNW Affiliates.
Mathis indicated that the efforts of dozens of Good Health WINs partners have contributed significantly to closing the disparity between COVID vaccination rates of Black and White adult populations in the US. Good Health WINs “To be honest, NCNW had a head start. We have a long history of working to ease the health disparities in communities of color.” She said, “Way back in the bad old days when HIV was a death sentence, NCNW was one of the first organizations to deploy to HBCU campuses all over the country to teach young people about safer sex; to hand out condoms. And, you can imagine in our very devout communities, it was controversial.” She also stressed the importance of patient/provider confidence, indicating it is a “two-way street” requiring the medical community to believe that patients of color deserve to be heard and to receive high quality care. She cited an NCNW survey that indicated 9% of Black women felt their doctors did not always hear their concerns. Good Health WINs initiative was created in 2021 to equip trusted messengers to provide reliable information about COVID and flu vaccines. Mathis closed by urging the audience to inspire hope in the populations they serve.
Good Health WINs is the largest national network of community based organizations and advocates working to promote vaccine confidence and health equity for Black people. national and local partnerships with medical professionals and organizations, to inform women of color about preventable diseases through immunizations and improve access to equitable health care. The initiative focuses on identifying the best strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage. By identifying and promoting the perspectives of trusted community-based voices and medical professionals, Good Health WINs continues to create messages that resonate with Black and Hispanic communities.
Ms. Mathis was one of the 13 speakers at the conference. Like Good Health WINs, the NCICP takes an evidence-based approach to eradicating misinformation and misconceptions regarding vaccines. The conference featured doctors, researchers, business leaders, and advocates, who addressed sustainable funding and research for vaccines. Presenters also discussed community engagement and best practices for combatting the politicization of vaccines. Policy and advocacy, at the local, federal, and state levels were also on the conference agenda.
In addition to Ms. Mathis’s keynote address, Good Health WINs presented two well attended panel discussions. The first was led by Mrs. Synovia Moss, project manager of Good Health WINs, which discussed the grassroots approach to becoming trusted messengers, and showcased an amazing variety of network partner events and activities. The audience paid close attention…taking notes and screenshots during the presentation. In the second workshop leaders of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) described the innovative ways they reached out to their collective 2.5 million members communities through social media, digital billboard advertisements, webinars, young adult mentoring, paid college internships, community festivals, NBA game appearances, vaccine clinics, PPE distribution, wrapping a convention host hotel with the GHW logo and a host of other engagements. New partnerships, friendships, and collaborations were sparked and NCNW looks forward to continuing efforts at tackling and eradicating vaccine preventable virus borne diseases in the future.
