Our Priorities

Healthy Communities

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.”

~ The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Fighting for Equitable
Access to High Quality
Healthcare

In Virginia, 83% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to a report by the Virginia Department of Health, and racial disparities are staggering. Black women in Virginia continue to have two times higher rates of pregnancy-associated deaths compared with their white counterparts.

In 2021, the rate was 113.8 for Black women and 54.8 for white women (per 100,000 live births). Virginia ranks 40 out of 50 states in the US for maternal mortality.

The Virginia Interfaith Center founded the PUSH Coalition in 2019, which is one of the largest groups of faith and advocacy organizations in Virginia focused on improving maternal health equity. More than 40 faith and advocacy organizations, together with democratic and republican legislators, have come together in a bipartisan effort to pass essential legislation to save lives and address these inequities.

Maternal Health Equity

We support policies that expand access to equitable maternity care that affirms the dignity and spiritual practices of all families. To achieve equity, we must address the racial disparities that persist in maternal health.

Community Centered Health

We promote strategies beyond the clinic that improve health and reduce disparities by addressing social, economic, and environmental factors. To build healthier communities, we must tackle the root causes of inequity.