Finally, a Summit About Minorities' Health Disparities

A three-day conference that begins today in National Harbor, Md., is the first US government-sponsored summit to tackle the health disparities that affect the nation's minority communities.

Many of these issues have been widely reported upon. According to CDC: African-American and Hispanic children represented more than 80 percent of pediatric AIDS cases in 2000; African Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to develop diabetes; and African Americans have the highest rates of high blood pressure and tend to develop the condition earlier.

"I'm excited about this summit," said Dr. David Satcher, the first African American named surgeon general. "We've all been struggling to get this going, but we're to the point where we want to hear from each other, share ideas. We have an opportunity to move forward."

Under the theme "The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities," the conference was organized by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health. Each of NIH's 27 centers and institutes has programs addressing health disparities, and the summit is seen as a way to coordinate their work. More than 3,800 health professionals have signed up to attend.

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