About the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights (OHEHR)

The Office of Health Equity and Human Rights was established in August 2022 to provide leadership and guidance relating to health equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for the New York State Department of Health (Department) as a whole, individual Offices within the Department, as well as for communities across New York that the Department serves. How the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights operates to reflect a framework of how partnerships within and across the Department's Offices can collectively advance the agency's overall mission to advance health equity and eliminate health disparities.

The composition of the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights is meant to reflect the strengths and excellence behind community engagement, policy influence, and the practice and culture of health equity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The mission of the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights in the New York State Department of Health is to address inequities and disparities experienced by communities. The Office of Health Equity and Human Rights seeks to confront systemic racism and determinants of health to improve the health and human rights of communities and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) workforce.

The vision of the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights is the elimination of disparities and advancement of health equity for all.

The following are the core values of the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights:

  • Champion equity and justice;
  • Cultivate mutual respect;
  • Elevate voices and communities, and;
  • Foster meaningful and intentional inclusion.

The motto of the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights is "advancing health, equity, human rights, and social justice for the betterment of communities."

Read more about the five program areas/units within the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights:

Advisory Committees and Stakeholder Groups

The Office of Health Equity and Human Rights and the five program areas/units within the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights oversee various advisory committees and stakeholder groups.

Office of Health Equity and Human Rights Executive Team

There is one council that is overseen by the Executive Team in the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights. The Community Stakeholder Council on Health Equity and Human Rights convenes community-based organizations and stakeholders to discuss and identify ways to advance health equity and human rights in the communities we serve.

Questions or comments about the Community Stakeholder Council on Health Equity and Human Rights should be directed to: ohehr@health.ny.gov.

AIDS Institute

There are a number of advisory groups, task forces, and community projects that are overseen by the AIDS Institute:

  • New York State AIDS Advisory Council
  • AIDS Advisory Council Ending the Epidemic (AAC ETE) Subcommittee
  • New York State Interagency Task Force on HIV/AIDS
  • New York State HIV Advisory Body (HAB)
  • Ending the Epidemic Regional Steering Committees
  • Faith Communities Project
  • Community Mobilization Programs

Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention

There are three stakeholder groups overseen by the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention:

  • Health Equity Council: Formerly known as the Minority Health Council, the Health Equity Council works to achieve the goal of equal health and health care for all New Yorkers.
  • Racial Equity Working Group: New York State legislation A.5679-A/S.2987-A in the 2021-2022 Legislative Session declared racism as a public health crisis in New York State, and established the Racial Equity Working Group within the New York State Department of Health. The Racial Equity Working Group is charged with studying racism's impact on public health and making recommendations for legislative or other actions to reduce or eliminate racial and ethnic disparities.
  • Data Disaggregation Working Group: New York State legislation S.6639-A /A.6896-A in the 2021-2022 Legislative Session requires that every state agency, board, or commission that directly collects data on ethnic origin for residents of the state of New York would use separate categories for a number of Asian groups included but not limited to Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Taiwanese. OMH HDP leads regular meetings with programs across the Department impacted by this legislation to develop consensus on how to operationalize parts of the legislation concerning inclusion of additional Asian ancestry categories.

Resources