The long-term health of our Commonwealth depends vitally on the health of our children, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation's new 2013 DataBook shows that we are succeeding in a number of key areas. No state can claim a better record when it comes to ensuring that children have health insurance, and in recent years we have made significant strides to reduce the number of low-birthweight babies and lower the risk of child and teen death.
For too many Massachusetts children, however, poverty remains a daily impediment to good health. 1 in 7 kids across the state lives in poverty--and if you look just at children under 5 the number is actually higher. These kids have poorer health outcomes across a whole range of measures, and the effects cascade through their lives and our communities.
If we want to ensure that every child in Massachusetts has the opportunity to learn, to play, and to thrive, we have to make sure they get the health care and public health support they need: everything from clean air and places to play, to pre-natal care and vaccinations, to in-school care and teen pregnancy prevention. But we also know that these services alone are not enough. We have to pursue a broad-based public health approach that addresses the root causes of poverty. Only then can we really begin to eliminate health disparities and improve the well-being of all our kids.
Toby Fisher, MBA, MSW
Executive Director
Massachusetts Public Health Association
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
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