Community partnerships promote healthy communities, start with accountability

September 17, 2018

If government wants true partnerships with communities of color, it must first recognize the wrongs government has committed and then work to right those wrongs, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said Wednesday during opening remarks for the annual conference of CityMatCH, a network of maternal and child health programs in urban communities across the United States.

“Racist policies can have health impacts that cross generations,” Kafoury said. “That is why it is so important to not only address the racism of our past, but to work against these policies today.”

Multnomah county partners with community groups and agencies to develop fair policy, like the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which ensured that Oregonians, regardless of income, citizenship status, gender identity or type of insurance, have access to comprehensive preventive reproductive benefits, including contraception, abortion services, and postpartum care.

The county also partners with Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, Latino Network, Self Enhancement Inc, the Native American Youth and Family Center, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland to provide evidence-based comprehensive and inclusive sexual education, with support from the federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Encouraged by its partners, Multnomah county sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in June after it changed the grant to favor abstinence only programs — eliminating the requirement that programs be inclusive and based on science.

And two weeks ago the county won its suit.

“We are feeling this assault on the local level. But we are fighting back,” Kafoury said. Partnerships with community groups helped shaped culturally specific programs within Maternal, Child and Family Health Services.

The Healthy Birth Initiative provides support for African American women and their families through pregnancy with health care coordination, birthing and breastfeeding classes, and social supports.

The Nurse Family Partnership pairs pregnant women and new mothers with nurses who help them learn to breastfeed and change diapers. But also help women meet social, economic and educational goals such ask learning to balance a checkbook or sign up for college financial aid.

The Future Generations Collaborative promotes healthy pregnancies and cultural healing in the Native community, and works to build a positive relationship between government and the Native community. Multnomah County epidemiologist Aileen Duldulao, was recognized this week by the Coalition for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology for her work in partnership with community to address historical trauma through the Future Generations Collaborative.

“Partnerships are about sharing power and challenging norms. As Multnomah County Chair, I am proud to champion the partnerships that shape our policies and programs,” Kafoury said. “I want to thank you for the partnerships that will grow out of this conference and for all the work each of you do in your own communities to protect maternal, child and family health.”