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FDA and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health Reaffirm Their Commitment To Support Healthy and Informed Families

To mark the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month September 15 to October 15 2004 , the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance) today reaffirmed their partnership and commitment for good health for Hispanic families.

“The Hispanic family is at the core of cultural traditions and values and remains the fundamental cornerstone of the Hispanic community,” said Acting Commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Lester M. Crawford. “One important way to honor the critical role of families during this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month is to help family members take the necessary steps to be healthy.”

“Access to high quality health care that is affordable, as well as accurate and timely health information, are important goals to achieve to start families on the road to good health,” said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the Alliance.

Unique challenges confront the Hispanic community in achieving and sustaining good health. For example:

• One-third of Hispanics with diabetes are undiagnosed;
• Among all Americans with high blood pressure, Mexican Americans are less likely than whites or African Americans to know that they have it;
• Cervical cancer incidence in Hispanic women has been consistently higher at all ages than for other women; and
• Latinos living in the United States have high rates of eye disease and visual impairment, and a significant number may be unaware of their eye disease.

The FDA and the Alliance will continue to strengthen their joint effort to work with the Hispanic community to address these and other pressing concerns, and to ensure access to timely and accurate health information that will assist families to make healthy choices. To that end, these resources to assist the Hispanic families are highlighted:

• The Food and Drug Administration has a wealth of health information about a variety of important health topics in both English and Spanish on its web page En Espanol located at http://www.fda.gov/oc/spanish/.
• The National Alliance for Hispanic Health developed and operates Su Familia – a toll-free community helpline – where families can get free, reliable, and confidential health information in English and Spanish, including a referral to a health care provider in their local community. The toll-free number for Su Familia is 1-866-SU-FAMILIA (1-866-783-2645).

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