The US Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $1.6 million in supplemental funding to 21 Healthy Start grantees to help reduce disparities in infant mortality in regional areas with the highest numbers of non-Hispanic Black or non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native infant deaths. Awardees will use the funding to create local action plans with data-driven policy and strategies. These plans will incorporate input from community members, consumers, and participants tailored to the unique needs of their populations. The expectation is that these strategies will look beyond the medical factors of health outcomes to address conditions that affect infant mortality disparities in their counties, such as poverty, education, housing, and nutrition.

The Pittsburgh Healthy Start program is an awardee and has the opportunity to build on an existing maternal and child health strategy process in Allegheny County.