The following is a statement from The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), a national organization of health centers serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
The result of this presidential election represents a disheartening moment in our struggle toward true equity and building thriving, healthy communities for all. With a president-elect who repeatedly and unapologetically used rhetoric of hate and bigotry against the most vulnerable in our society—immigrants and refugees, religious minorities, women, people of color, and other marginalized communities—we recommit ourselves to our work toward a more inclusive, just, and hopeful vision of this country.
As an organization representing community health centers that serve anyone who walks through their doors, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, country of origin, sex, gender, age, disability, or the color of their skin—we stand with our members and other partners in continuing the fight to advance progressive policies that improve the lives of the underserved and all communities.
We have long fought to improve the health of all Americans, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. We will continue to protect policies and programs that pave the path toward health equity, and break down the barriers that prevent the attainment of the highest level of health for all.
We have a hard battle ahead, one that will be even tougher for the communities we serve, as their rights to resources and services including quality, affordable health care will be threatened and attacked. We will continue to work together to protect the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to ensure that the millions of people that rely on these programs do not fall through the cracks.
We will continue to ensure that issues that impact the communities we serve, including language access, data disaggregation, funding for health centers and programs to combat diseases like hepatitis B, will be a part of the agenda at the federal, state and local levels.
As we pause with our loved ones and communities, and process how the shared values we’ve worked hard to make into reality may be jeopardized, we set our eyes forward. We are committed to working with our members and partners to providing health care to all as a basic human right. We call on elected officials and all policymakers to assure that every American is afforded this and all rights to a full and healthy livelihood.
AAPCHO is a national association of 35 community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.
