JACKSON - To help reach underserved communities, the MSDH’s Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity has awarded nearly $2 million dollars in grants to organizations that address health disparities and advance health equity within the state.

"What we are seeing is that the burden of disease and illness is on racial and ethnic minority populations and the rural and urban poor, and these communities need help," said Victor Sutton, Mississippi State Department of Health's (MSDH) Chief of Community Health and Clinical Services.

The groups receiving the competitive grants were chosen based on their ability to address the many barriers to strong health outcomes, including language and literacy skills, faced by historically excluded populations in the community.

"A major goal of all the funded projects is to ensure that every resident in the state gets the help and support they deserve," said Sutton.

Awardees are:

• Boat People S.O.S, Biloxi
• Central Mississippi Inc., Winona
• El Pueblo, Biloxi
• Fannie Lou Hamer Breast Cancer Foundation, Greenwood
• Jackson State University, Jackson
• Mississippi Immigrants' Rights Alliance, Jackson
• Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance, Okolona
• Mom.ME, Jackson
• Operation Shoestring Inc., Jackson
• Refill Jackson Initiative, Jackson
• The Church Triumphant Global, Jackson
• University of Mississippi, Oxford

The project period for all awards ends May 14, 2024.