PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVES

There is a large population of Sub-Saharan Africans domiciled here in Massachusetts. The African Community Health Initiatives (ACHI) has stepped up to help, to provide education and outreach to people of African descent for screening for health insurance needs, health/social service needs, and referral to appropriate health/social service providers.

ACHI also assists in the enrollment of clients in the Massachusetts state health insurance plans - MassHealth and Commonwealth Care.

ACHI particularly focuses on HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other tropical disease education, in an effort to combat these diseases among some of the so-called “at risk groups” of African immigrants in Massachusetts.

Community Partnerships

ACHI seeks to:

• identify providers and facilities serving people from Africa and establish relationships with them to facilitate referral of African immigrants for services and
• Collaborate with health services providers to provide education and screening.

Education

ACHI works to promote and improve cultural competence with providers and institutions that serve people from Africa. They also seek to develop and implement innovative and culturally appropriate ways to encourage people from Africa to access and utilize health services in a timely manner.

For more information, please see: http://www.africancommunityhealthinitiatives.org/

-Thanks to Rebecca Plummer, from Greater Boston Legal Services for sharing this resource

05/08