Oprah Winfrey’s latest mission is to ensure that Black women are taking better care of their health. The television mogul and her Oprah Winfrey Network has launched its first-ever initiative focused on providing tools and resources to empower Black women to own their health in 2021 and beyond.
Winfrey and her team have unveiled their OWN Your Health campaign that seeks to bring awareness, education, resources, and a sense of community to address the unique health concerns facing Black women today, encouraging them to put their health and well-being first.
“At OWN, we are always striving to meet our audience where she is and to serve her needs. This important initiative supports and empowers Black women, and it has never been more critical to use our wide-reaching platform to ensure they have the tools and resources needed to improve their health and well-being,” OWN President Tina Perry told Deadline in a statement.
Insight from the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals that Black women have higher rates of illnesses, including hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, stroke and lupus. Additionally, Black health disparities often exist as a result of systemic racism within the United States health care system, racial segregation of neighborhoods and racism-related chronic stress. With such issues in mind, the campaign will focus on attending to those needs.
“COVID-19 and the racial justice movement have also highlighted the need for urgent policy reform to balance disparities that exist in healthcare for Black women, and we look forward to working with our distinguished advisory council on this campaign that will support and uplift our community,” Perry added.
OWN Your Health will explore a full range of mental, physical, emotional and social health issues with quarterly initiatives that feature messaging with relevant and up-to-date health and wellness tools. The campaign also provides opportunities for OWN brand partners to support with resources and options for healthier lifestyles.
Check out the commercial on the following page promoting OWN Your Health, which features the song “Stand Up For Something” by Common and Andra Day. Day also supplied the voice-over for the spot.
