National Observances

2025 Theme

The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Since 1986, OMH has provided resources and information that support the success, sustainability, and sharing of health-disparity-reducing policies, programs, and practices.

In honor of the OMH mission, the following theme will be used for calendar year 2025:

Advancing Commitments to Eliminate Health Disparities

OMH encourages public, community, and nonprofit private organizations to adopt this theme in their 2025 communication efforts to advance their commitments to eliminate health disparities.

Visit the OMH website throughout the year to find new information and resources related to 2025 national observances. Also, subscribe to OMH’s weekly and monthly newsletters to receive updates on these observances and other opportunities to help eliminate health disparities.

How to Start Advancing Your Commitments to Eliminate Health Disparities

Consider

Considering the diverse cultural backgrounds, health beliefs, practices, preferred languages, economic and environmental circumstances, and health literacy levels of the communities you serve is the first step towards helping address health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations and AI/AN communities. When individuals are provided with culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) and information, they are better able to create healthier outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. Visit Think Cultural Health to find training, resources, and strategies for providing CLAS.

Connect

Connecting multiple sources of data and information, like the OMH Population Profiles and Healthy People 2030 social determinants of health data, can help develop comprehensive, data-driven policies, programs, and practices that benefit the communities you serve. Use the OMH Knowledge Center’s Online Library Catalog and services to conduct research on health topics related to racial and ethnic minority populations and AI/AN communities.

Collaborate

Collaborating with federal, state, and local partners may help identify and provide the resources needed to build a sustainable community-based workforce that has a positive, long-term impact on your community. Learn about opportunities to partner with OMH during Fiscal Year 2025 on the OMH Open Funding Opportunities page. Visit the OMH Resource Center to learn more about requesting a free funding search. Resource Center Information Specialists are available to provide no-cost searches on sources of federal and non-federal funding.

Contribute

Contributing to conversations on social media is a great opportunity to share your story and raise awareness about the health disparities impacting your community. Follow OMH on X (in English and in Spanish), Instagram, and Facebook and use #AdvancingCommitments to share how you and your organization are Advancing Commitments to Eliminate Health Disparities.