As a pillar in the Black community and advocate for Black women in her community, Oprah Winfrey and her cable network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) have announced the launch of its first-ever initiative that aims to offer tools that both empower and uplift Black women’s health and wellness.

According to Deadline, Winfrey and the network’s multi-platform OWN Your Health campaign strives to raise awareness and also provide “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.”

The last year has been tumultuous for all of us dealing with the pandemic, especially Black women, so the Own Your Health campaign hopes to get our community’s well-being back on track.

“COVID-19 and the racial justice movement have 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,” OWN President Tina Perry told Deadline.

By exploring the depths of mental, physical and emotional/social health, the new platform will offer Black women quarterly initiatives that showcase on-brand messaging as well as up-to-date relevant health and wellness tools that will help them pursue healthier lifestyles.

“At OWN, we are always striving to meet our audience where she is and to serve her needs,” Perry adds. “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.”

Many chronic health issues that Black women battle at higher rates include hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, stroke, and lupus, according to research from the National Institute of Health and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

With this in mind, the OWN Your Health campaign plans to focus on three key areas that affect Black women’s health:

      • Proactive Prevention – including routine screenings, nutrition, health education and accountability.
      • The Unspoken – including fertility, motherhood, sexual and relationship health, trauma financial health and treatments.
      • Superwoman – source of pressure many Black women regularly experience – the obligation to project an image of strength and to suppress emotions, to resist accepting help or admitting vulnerability and prioritizing caregiving to others

The campaign’s overall message drives home to the fact that us as Black women need to learn how to put our needs first more often, and that work starts with recognizing where we need to improve.

For more information about the OWN Your Health campaign, click here.