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Richmond Measures Progress with First Health in All Policies (HiAP) Report
RICHMOND, California – The City of Richmond continues its leadership in working towards health equity with the release of its first Health in All Policies (HiAP) Report. Health in All Policies, or “healthy public policy,” is based on the idea that health starts with where people live, work, learn, and play, and that community health is influenced by more than individual choices. One’s physical and social environments, along with local government decisions and actions that shape these environments, have an impact on health outcomes.
City Manager Bill Lindsay explains, “The ordinance provides city staff and me the opportunity to evaluate and prioritize services that promote health equity. It means that our employees who maintain the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. baseball fields are community clinicians. So are our librarians, firefighters, planners, finance team, and all other City employees and partners.”
The HiAP Report is a recap of the influence and progress of Richmond’s Health in All Policies ordinance and strategy and identifies how it will continue to grow over the next decade (R.M.C 9.15). It also tells three narratives of how the many efforts in Richmond – of the City, residents and organizations – are combining to impact core health concerns of residents. After a community development process that began in 2012, the first step for the City of Richmond in this process was to begin speaking the language of health equity and to understand the suite of City services, programs, data collection and policy development that could be coordinated to promote health equity.
According to Mayor Butt, “the report highlights the City’s health equity achievements to date while recognizing that there is still much to be done to fully institutionalize HiAP into all levels of government action.”
“Richmond is a national leader in implementation of policies that promote local health equity. This report ensures they are committed to meeting their goals, and willing to recognize how they can improve. It is unique among local governments,” noted Jason Corburn, UC Berkeley Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the School of Public Health. Richmond’s HiAP focus strives to ensure that the opportunities and benefits of the Bay Area’s economic growth and investments are distributed equitably in the community. The HiAP Report illustrates how Richmond, including local government officials, City staff, residents and organizations, has and will continue to promote health equity by addressing structural racism and many place-based “toxic stressors.
For more information on the City of Richmond’s Health in All Policies and the Report, visit the City’s Health Initiatives website at www.richmondhealth.org.
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