We’re ecstatic to share that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will award $2.39 million to the National WIC Association (NWA) for the first year of a 3-year project, nearly $7 million project: Community Partnerships for Healthy Mothers & Children.
Through this project, we will fund and provide support for 36 local WIC agencies to develop and implement community-driven plans to reduce and prevent chronic disease in high-risk areas in the following states: Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and at least two Indian Tribal Organizations.
We are excited to partner with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Altarum Institute to administer and evaluate the project. With CDC and these partners, we hope to help the 36 agencies:
We also hope the community-based strategies will ultimately contribute to reaching CDC’s targets of reducing the prevalence of obesity by 3% and reducing the rate of death and disability due to diabetes, heart disease and stroke by 3%.
Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes account for 70% of all deaths in the U.S. each year and reductions in quality of life for almost 10% of all Americans. Because risk for chronic disease begins prenatally and in early childhood, there is substantial opportunity to prevent and reduce chronic diseases during these life stages.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is celebrating 40 years of serving mothers and young children in low-income communities across the country, providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support, referrals to health care and social services, and nutritious foods.
As trusted nutrition experts, local WIC agencies are in a great position to play a leadership role in coordinated community efforts to strengthen referral networks within local health systems, develop and advocate for local policies to support breastfeeding, work with retailers to improve healthy food offerings and other community efforts.