Community Partnerships
for Health Equity (CPHE)
MEDICC’s Community Partnerships for Health Equity (CPHE) offer exchanges in Cuba as a magnet and model of health equity and resilience for U.S. grassroots communities—a multi-year experience often described as transformational. This active network strengthens existing community partnerships and adapts principles and practices from community-centered health care in Cuba to improve health outcomes and equity in U.S. communities historically disadvantaged by systemic inequities and environmental injustices.
How CPHE works to improve health in U.S. communities:
- Selection of CPHE communities is place-based and collaborative. MEDICC partners with local community leaders to develop the program’s focus in Cuba and CPHE group composition.
- CPHE groups of 12 to 15—primarily frontline health workers and community activists—spend one week in Cuba meeting with healthcare professionals and local leaders, observing how they engage with and respond to community needs. Each CPHE group analyzes local practices to see which may align with their own priorities.
- MEDICC supports CPHE participants to implement initiatives based on their experiences in Cuba related to community empowerment with scarce resources. Emphasis is on prevention and community-based primary health care, education and engagement tailored to community needs and fostering leadership development among young participants.
- Long-term support is provided through cross-site visits, annual CPHE national meetings, quarterly CPHE newsletters, webinars and exchange with Cuban colleagues. MEDICC helps CPHE members attend health equity conferences and provides mini grants to CPHE sites to further their innovative work aimed at greater health equity.
Fast Facts
- Founded in 2005
- 12 CPHE sites throughout the USA
- 20 exchanges in Cuba
- Annual mini grants to CPHE sites
- Annual CPHE national meeting convenes scores of CPHE leaders
CPHE Program Outcomes
Father's Making Progress - Milwaukee, WI
Now a thriving non-profit organization with its own source of funding, Fathers Making Progress was founded by a Milwaukee CPHE member who was inspired by the active youth engagement he saw in Cuban communities. FMP programs include classes and ongoing support for young dads to learn best-practice parenting techniques. FMP partners with local schools to offer intergenerational opportunities for boys to learn to become community leaders.
Bringing the Peace, Inc (BTP) – Bronx, NY
Impressed by the neighborhood projects she saw in Cuba, one CPHE community organizer initiated local projects in her housing community of Claremont Village, Bronx and founded a non-profit. BTP fosters community wellness through education and providing opportunities that confront some of the area’s biggest challenges: violence, health equity and socioeconomic despair. Programs include addressing women’s health and diabetes awareness and education, community gardening/food insecurity, violence reduction and restorative justice.
Sistahs Making a Change – New Orleans, LA
Initiated by a CPHE member, Sistahs Making a Change is a multigenerational/multiethnic inner-city health and wellness program dedicated to improving health outcomes in the African American community. It is offered at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, a non-profit supporting human and economic development for 20+ years in collaboration with other community partners.
Innovative Leaders for Water Solutions – Milwaukee, WI
This Program is an extension of the City of Milwaukee Community Water Services’ current pilot program that engages high school students and residents implementing an eight-week water collection project to identify the first 150 homes in Milwaukee that have elevated lead levels in tap water.
Water is K’é: Citizen Scientist Project – Navajo Nation, Red Mesa, AZ
With a small CPHE grant to Community Outreach & Patient Empowerment (COPE), Navajo youth from the Red Mesa community attended a month-long Indigenous Youth Leadership training sponsored by Earth Guardians, a global, youth-led non-profit advancing the next generation of environmental leaders. This experience led to their DigDeep project assessing whether their water is safe to drink. With technical expertise provided by Thriving Earth Exchange, the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Idaho, these Navajo youth tested water in community centers, schools and early child education centers. They disseminated their findings to their community, along with health messaging about the importance of clean drinking water.
FAQs
Who can initiate a CPHE site?
MEDICC is also interested in reaching out to national organizations, health subsystems and clinical networks that share values of health equity, community-engaged health care and environmental justice.
What are MEDICC’s criteria for selecting a CPHE site?
Criteria include identifying grassroots organizations and determining how CPHE can support and enhance their work.
What type of facilities will we visit in Cuba?
Depending on the focus of the CPHE site, your group will visit community centers, mental health and youth organizations, family doctor-nurse offices, art projects, local climate resilience programs and more.
I am considering initiating a CPHE site, can I speak with current or past CPHE leaders?
Yes, please contact CPHE Director, Francisco Ronquillo, fjronquillo@mediccglobal.org, in order to connect to a CPHE site leader.
Our organization/project has been chosen as a CPHE site. What happens next?
After being selected for MEDICC’s CPHE program, the CPHE Director conducts a site visit to meet with community leaders to better understand the needs and strengths within their community, the partnerships involved and possible community engagement efforts.
How long do CPHE programs typically last?
CPHE programs last as long as the community members and leaders continue to support and sustain the partnerships and their initiatives developed.
How much does it cost to be a CPHE site?
CPHE encourages each site to be financially self-sustaining through local shared resources. CPHE supports each site by keeping members connected to the network, capacity building though trainings, conferences and experiential learning site visits, including sharing the cost of travel to Cuba itself.
Is it legal to go to Cuba with CPHE?
Yes. Each MEDICC program abides by all U.S. regulations for travel to Cuba.
CPHE Newsletters
You can hear from CPHE leaders and members themselves by sampling some of our newsletters:
Find Out More About CPHE
If you are a grassroots organization or leader working for health equity and social justice, or want to learn how to support CPHE, contact Francisco J. Ronquillo, CPHE Program Director at fjronquillo@mediccglobal.org