In Los Angeles County, black babies are three times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies.
Dire racial disparities in infant mortality have persisted for decades, and local officials have said turning those statistics around is a public health priority.
A robust, related initiative in Sacramento is showing promising results — and there are lessons L.A. can learn from their efforts.
L.A.'s action plan, formed in 2018, aims to close the gap in birth outcomes by 30 percent in five years. The plan focuses on raising awareness and averting chronic stressors (which affect birth outcomes).
Already, they've made some progress — forming action teams around the county and launching a website as part of a public awareness campaign. And in the near future, local groups will also be able to apply for a new pot of funding from the state to boost efforts like home visits from nurses, doula programs and group prenatal care.
Sacramento County's effort was launched in 2015. It's called the Black Child Legacy Campaign and its goal is to reduce preventable deaths of African American children under the age of 18 by 10 to 20 percent by 2020.
The results have surpassed expectations. Some of the rates were on the decline already, but the initiative ushered in a dramatic shift.
The people behind these community-driven efforts say other communities can use similar approaches to turn around these bleak and persistent trends.
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