About Health Equity Initiative
Our Vision
A world where everybody has the opportunity to be healthy...
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Our Mission
Health Equity Initiative (HEI) is a member-driven nonprofit membership organization dedicated to build a global community that engages across sectors and disciplines to advance health equity. By bringing together and enlisting the efforts of the public and private sectors, professions and communities that have both a stake and an influence on social determinants of health, HEI advocates for improving conditions and achieving equity in health for all. We focus on championing transformative change to advance health equity, supporting knowledge, engaging communities and leaders, and building capacity to address barriers that prevent people from leading a healthy and productive life.
Our Values
Passion – for making a difference in people’s health and lives
Commitment – to social justice as it relates to health equity as well as intersectoral approaches to address key social determinants of health and other root causes of health inequities
Participation – as the basis of our volunteer approach for all HEI action areas, activities, and partnerships
Entrepreneurship – to make things happen in new and creative ways
Inclusiveness – in feeling that all opinions are welcome and should be carefully considered and evaluated
Dedication – to our mission, members, partners, and ultimately the communities that suffer from health inequities
Integrity – as our motivation to go beyond organizational agendas, and focus only on evidence-based practices in developing our activities and partnerships
Sustainability – as our goal in fostering new approaches to join across sectors, pooling resources and mobilizing for a common cause
Teamwork – in our “zero politics” attitude when it comes to working with others and helping make progress toward health equity
Professionalism – as our basis for our problem-solving perseverance as well as respecting internal and external stakeholders, and recognizing the expert in everybody, every partner and interlocutor
Commitment – to social justice as it relates to health equity as well as intersectoral approaches to address key social determinants of health and other root causes of health inequities
Participation – as the basis of our volunteer approach for all HEI action areas, activities, and partnerships
Entrepreneurship – to make things happen in new and creative ways
Inclusiveness – in feeling that all opinions are welcome and should be carefully considered and evaluated
Dedication – to our mission, members, partners, and ultimately the communities that suffer from health inequities
Integrity – as our motivation to go beyond organizational agendas, and focus only on evidence-based practices in developing our activities and partnerships
Sustainability – as our goal in fostering new approaches to join across sectors, pooling resources and mobilizing for a common cause
Teamwork – in our “zero politics” attitude when it comes to working with others and helping make progress toward health equity
Professionalism – as our basis for our problem-solving perseverance as well as respecting internal and external stakeholders, and recognizing the expert in everybody, every partner and interlocutor
Strategic Goals 2020-2023
Programs
- Grow the size of the movement by continuing to bring together community leaders and professionals across disciplines, sectors, and geographical areas to foster innovation in addressing key barriers to equity in health for all
- Support knowledge of health inequities and their root causes among different publics, policymakers, communities, and other stakeholders
- Advocate for transformative change and solutions to address key social determinants of health during COVID19 response and beyond, and to improve access to services and information among vulnerable and marginalized groups
- Continue to develop resources to expand upon HEI's efforts to build the capacity of organizations and leaders across professions and communities to address health inequities
- Focus on community engagement and multisectoral partnerships as key strategies for improving conditions and achieving equity in health for all
- Strengthen organizational processes and resources to support long-term sustainability of our mission and activities
- Encourage a culture of participation and volunteerism among the organization's board, advisory council, members, and the broader HEI community
Strategic Areas of Focus - 2020-2023
As we revisited key areas of focus for HEI 2020-2023 strategic plan, we renewed our unwavering commitment to these important issues to which Health Equity Initiative has dedicated its efforts since our inception in 2011!
- Advocate for community engagement and multisectoral solutions to advance progress on key social determinants of health and promote equity in health for all
- Address social discrimination (e.g., racism, gender bias, bias toward low-income groups or the LGBTQI+ community or people living with a disability, xenophobia, and other forms of implicit and/or institutional bias) as a key determinant of health
- Promote equity and social justice in the design of cities and other kinds of built environments
- Focus on system-change across professional sectors and disciplines
