Commentary

The month of April is recognized as National Minority Health Month — a month-long initiative to advance health equity across the country. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to disproportionately affect communities of color, we see worsening family stress, poverty, child hunger, and child and adolescent mental health in Maryland and across the globe. This April, amplifying and addressing the need for health equity has never been more critical — and provides an important opportunity to uplift the important steps we are taking now in the right direction.

Over the last year, COVID-19 has dominated our national discourse and overshadowed other topics. We have seen how COVID has masked and even worsened the opioid epidemic that has continued to ravage our communities. Unfortunately, we see troubling evidence that addiction and the coronavirus may interact in ways that exacerbate both problems. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has documented how people with substance use disorders are at higher risk for contracting and suffering more severe consequences from COVID-19. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of NIDA, and her colleagues also show through their research that this is especially true for African Americans.

I greatly appreciate Maryland Matters declaring “Public Health” to be a winner in the 2021 General Assembly session (“General Assembly Session 2021: Winners and Losers.”) As you note, one of the main reasons public health was a winner was the enactment of the Health Equity Resource Communities legislation, which will address health disparities and improve health equity in our state. We were thrilled that the General Assembly allocated $59 million in funding for health equity communities over the next five years from secure funding sources.