Below you will find an invitation to you, your APA divisions, and your organizations to partner with us in our new initiative, #EquityFlattenstheCurve. The goals are in the invitation. We are developing a network and a virtual capacity-building and resource center. We hope to join with our partners to amplify the impact we all have to address the inequities in the pandemic response. Please share this invitation widely with your organizations and networks, and I hope you will be able to join us in this effort!
Science tells us that COVID-19 knows no political boundaries, but it is very clear that some people—as a result of social inequities and how their identities are perceived and treated by society—are more impacted. COVID-19 is exposing our nation’s longstanding social and political inequities based on race, class, gender, national origin, age, disability and other factors. The pandemic underscores the urgency with which we must address the destructive social hierarchies that are the source of these divisions. Inequity exacerbates the spread of the virus and deters community-wide cooperation and access to resources and information. In doing so, they also increase the risk for society as a whole, upping the numbers of people with limited or no access to care and leaving too many undiagnosed, untreated or, in many cases, dead.
To address this challenge, the American Psychological Association (APA) is launching a national campaign, #EquityFlattensTheCurve. You and/or your organization are invited to join other organizations, behavioral and social scientists, advocates, activists, journalists, equity champions, and practitioners to amplify information and efforts that center equity in the Covid-19 response and recovery. To learn more about the initiative and to discuss the potential to connect and collaborate, we invite you to participate in the #EFTC Partner Engagement and Strategy Discussion with Brian Smedley, PhD, APA Chief of Psychology in the Public Interest, on April 23rd at 1:00 PM EST. Please register here.
#EquityFlattenstheCurve aims to reduce bias, stigma and discrimination to advance health equity in the pandemic response and recovery efforts. #EFTC will:
- Connect the voices of health equity advocates and professionals to educate policymakers and leaders regarding equity-enhancing practices and policies;
- Promote social cohesion, inclusion, and equity as necessary to help mitigate the virus’ spread; and,
- Promote policies and practices that reduce inequity and address public health needs of diverse populations over short- and long-term.
We invite you to be a partner of the #EquityFlattenstheCurve social media campaign launch to disseminate messages (yours or ours) that advance the goals of the initiative to your networks. We hope to create a groundswell of attention to the social and political inequities exposed in the pandemic response. We have also developed a range of activities partners can engage in to spread the message and take action. If you plan on joining us in sharing social media messages promoting social cohesion, inclusion, and equity, please use #EquityFlattenstheCurve on your posts, and share with us any hashtags we can include in our posts. The campaign will launch Wednesday, April 29th at 2:00 pm EST. Please mark your calendar and join us in spreading the word and engaging in virtual conversations at that time.
We hope to facilitate a dialogue among organizations and individuals working to reduce bias, stigma and discrimination to advance health equity in the pandemic response and recovery. We plan to build on this initial social media campaign by launching a virtual resource and capacity-building center and developing a network of activists and advocates. We hope you will join us in uniting our efforts to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes for diverse populations. We hope you or a representative of your organization will join us in the #EFTC Partner Engagement and Strategy Discussion on April 23rd at 1:00 PM EST. Please register here. Contact us at eftc@apa.org with any questions, suggestions, or feedback.