Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Large disparities exist between minorities and the rest of Americans in major areas of health. Even as the nation's overall health is improving, minorities suffer up to five times more from some diseases than the rest of the nation. President Clinton has committed the nation to eliminating disparities in six health areas by 2010, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will join this enormous fight. The six areas are: infant mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, and vaccinations of children and adults. Infant mortality is considered a global indicator of a nation's health status. The United States still ranks 24th in infant mortality compared to other industrialized nations, even though infant mortality has steadily declined in recent decades. Compared to the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the greatest disparity is among blacks with a mortality rate of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1996, which is nearly 2 1/2 times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). In 1995, American Indians as a whole had an infant mortality rate of 9 deaths per 1,000, but some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate nearly double the national rate. The same is true for the Hispanic community, whose rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995 does not reflect the Puerto Rican community, whose rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995. The disparities can be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester – better than 90% coverage for all childhood vaccines in all populations. pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations among adults aged 65 and older by 60%. We all hope it can be done because for our nation to thrive, our nation must be healthy and there is no excuse for the disparities that minorities face when it comes to their health. health.Works CitedUnited States. US Department of Health and Human Services. The initiative to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health. May 26, 1998. Online. Internet. February 21, 1999. Available "Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health." Public Health Reports. July/August 1998: 372 EBSCOhost. Available . (11 February 1999) Authors unknown. "Health and medicine". Encyclopedia of multiculturalism. Volume 3. page 821