GIH Bulletin

Spring in DC means the cherry blossom trees, daffodils, tulips, and other flowers are in bloom. For GIH, this spring also means new relationships are blooming. We have welcomed a few new Funding Partners, and it is my pleasure to announce the addition of three new colleagues at Grantmakers In Health.

When we launched our strategic plan, we noted that to achieve our vision of better health for all through better philanthropy we would need to use our voice to take a more active role to influence advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas that will advance health and make a lasting, measurable impact. Our current health “system” is not designed to promote health and wellness, but to provide care once a person is sick, and it is built on a foundation of inequity based on health coverage, or a lack thereof.

This year has been an exciting time of renewal and transition at Grantmakers In Health. We celebrated our 40th anniversary and began implementing an ambitious five-year strategic plan, that included work to identify when and how GIH would use its voice to advance policies that support better health for all and at long last returned to in-person convenings with our annual conference, Fall Forum, and other events.

It was so wonderful to see everyone in Miami at the 2022 Grantmakers In Health annual conference, especially those who joined us for the first time, and to learn more about the work you are doing to achieve better health for all through better philanthropy. The conference occurred at an important moment for our country. As Admiral Rachel Levine, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health, said during our strategy session on advancing LGBTQ health equity “even after decades of social progress, the most vulnerable among us continue to suffer.” The conference provided an opportunity for us to reconnect, to reflect on the considerable health challenges facing the United States, and to learn and grow together as we explore and share solutions.

Much has changed since Grantmakers In Health (GIH) last convened in 2019.  Over the past three years, more than 1 million Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Large cracks in our public health, healthcare systems, and our safety net programs are apparent. In addition, pervasive inequities across all facets of society have increased. The country is divided, and this division continues to hamper our ability to address one of the greatest health challenges our modern world has ever faced.

May is Asian American Pacific Islander heritage month, celebrating the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. Recent priorities for grantmakers have focused on racial equity, health and well-being, and immigrant rights. Yet, investments for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have been under-resourced and deprioritized, receiving only 0.26 percent of philanthropic dollars and 0.17 percent of research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

April marks National Minority Health Month. It is a time for us to educate ourselves on the health challenges facing communities of color and other vulnerable populations, and to reflect on the progress we have made towards advancing health equity and what more we must do to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.