Join Us for Our Annual Spring Awards Breakfast!
 
MPHA’s 20th Anniversary Spring Awards Breakfast is less than a month away! Get your tickets today, and join us on 6/3 to honor health equity champions Dr. Ashish Jha, Mayor Michelle Wu, Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Phoebe Walker, and Chien Chi-Huang. Don't miss this chance to reconnect and celebrate with our public health community! We are deeply grateful to our sponsors for making this event possible. Learn more.
MPHA's Annual Report is Now Available
 
MPHA is pleased to announce that our 2021 Annual Report is now live on our website. The report describes MPHA’s efforts to achieve health equity by addressing the upstream drivers of health and wellness. Highlights from last year include our campaigns to 1) transform the dangerously inadequate and inequitable local public health system in Massachusetts, 2) demand COVID-19 vaccine equity, 3) stabilize housing in the wake of the pandemic, and 4) build support for transportation justice. To read the full report, click here.
Local and National Studies Reveal Importance of Vaccine Equity
 
Two new studies recently underscored the critical importance of achieving vaccine equity. A nationwide report from the Commonwealth Fund found that COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S. has prevented more than 2 million deaths and 17 million hospitalizations so far. Another study, completed by a team of researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and the Boston Public Health Commission, found that educational level and income were the strongest predictors of vaccination status among Massachusetts residents. These findings highlight the urgent need to achieve vaccine equity, in order to protect ALL residents – regardless of income, educational status, or ZIP Code – from the worst impacts of COVID-19.
House Completes FY23 Budget

The Massachusetts House recently wrapped up its budgeting process for FY23 with mixed results. MPHA was pleased to see several of our budget priorities included in the House budget, such as:
 
  • healthy food access through the Massachusetts Food Trust Program,
  • chronic disease prevention through the Mass in Motion initiative,
  • creation of a Common Application to make critical safety-net programs more accessible, and
  • greater investments in Rental Assistance for Families in Transition and the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.
 
We were also disappointed that MPHA's priority amendments to support transportation justice, promote housing stability, and reduce childhood poverty were not adopted. We are deeply grateful to House champions Marjorie Decker, Adrian Madaro, Frank Moran, Sarah Peake, Hannah Kane, and Jay Livingstone for their leadership and to all of YOU who raised your voices in support of health equity! The FY23 state budget process now moves to the Senate, and we will continue working with our legislative allies and partners to ensure that critical investments in health equity are included in the final FY23 state budget.
Raise Your Voice for Clean & Equitable Transportation

Join us on Monday, 5/9 at an online forum sponsored by Transportation for Massachusetts and the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts to discuss how we can accelerate the transition to clean, equitable transportation and help Massachusetts meet its targets to reduce carbon pollution. Speakers include MPHA Assistant Campaign Director Alexis Walls, former Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, Alliance for Business Leadership President Jen Benson, and Conservation Law Foundation Vice President Staci Rubin. Register here.
Massachusetts Public Health Association
(857) 263-7072 | @mapublichealth | mapublichealth.org
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