The Wisconsin Partnership Program has awarded $1.5 million to United Way of Greater Milwaukee to head its mission to reduce African-American infant mortality in Milwaukee.
The funding will be rolled out over the course of five years through the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF), an initiative overseen by the Partnership Program to reduce African-American infant mortality in Milwaukee as well as in Beloit, Kenosha and Racine.
As the convening agency for the Milwaukee LIHF Collaborative, United Way will work with the Partnership Program’s Regional Program Office, led by the Center for Urban Population Health, to advance Milwaukee’s community action plan. Through the plan, the collaborative will focus on promoting policies, systems and environments that result in healthier African-American birth outcomes.
“The Wisconsin Partnership Program has made a substantial long-term commitment to Milwaukee, and the selection of United Way to lead the implementation process moves this effort forward with a strong and experienced partner,” said Dr. Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, which is home to the Wisconsin Partnership Program. “We share with United Way the belief that the work must always be informed by ideas, strategies and energy that emerge from the community itself.”
According to United Way, LaShawndra Vernon, community impact leader at United Way, will take the helm on the Milwaukee collaborative.
