Topic: Health Equity in Southern Maine and Beyond

Created in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in rural Down East Maine, today it works with marginalized communities throughout Maine to advance the health and well-being of people living with HIV, people who use drugs, the LGBTQ+ community, and others. HEAL provides sexual health and wellness services, HIV+ care and case management, a harm reduction program, and more.

Maine Access Immigrant Network (MAIN) bridges access to health and social services for immigrants and refugees in Portland by working to address refugee health literacy, health care enrollment, and coordination of health care benefits and non-clinical care. MAIN provides resource and referral information that is culturally and linguistically appropriate in English, Arabic, Somali, and French to ensure equal access to programs and services for new Mainers from Africa and the Middle East.

Maine CDC’s Office of Population Health Equity (OPHE) advances health equity in Maine through collaboration with programs across Maine CDC and partners with community leaders to ensure that Maine’s public health initiatives are informed by and reflect the needs of the people of Maine.

NMPHI aims to empower, inform, and educate new Mainers about preventive health measures and the promotion of healthy habits by working with community partnerships to identify and solving health problems, bridge the gap in health care service delivery, and decrease health disparity. In addition to empowering and educating, NMPHI advocates on behalf of the New Mainer community and Mainers at-large for better access to health resources, more sensible healthcare policies and overall better health equity.

Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC) project highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees living in Portland, Maine.

Animations in 10 different languages (Somali, French, Persian, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Azerbaijani, and English) that promote COVID-19 information and protection, created by the Azerbaijani Society of Maine.

Maine's Department of Health and Human Services is providing support for isolation and quarantining, testing, and vaccination clinics.

OPHE, in partnership with other offices across Maine DHHS, is overseeing a series of new initiatives to advance health equity in communities at higher risk of COVID-19, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities. This effort is supported by a $32.1 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC).