The Wisconsin Partnership Program has awarded $2.25 million to 12 Milwaukee projects working to provide support and resources to African American families and reduce infant mortality in the city.
The donation is part of a $3.4 million grant funding projects in Beloit, Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee. In recent years, almost 90 percent of African American infant deaths in the state have occurred within these communities.
Grants are being distributed through the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF), a $10 million effort focused on reducing infant mortality that was developed by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and its Wisconsin Partnership Program in 2009.
“Our grants will support community-based projects that will address the root causes of infant mortality and promise to reverse this devastating public health trend,” said Dr. Patrick Remington, associate dean for public health and chair of the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s Oversight and Advisory Committee. “These projects align closely with the plan developed by the Milwaukee LIHF Collaborative, such as by focusing on health fathers who are vital to having healthy families.”
