WASHINGTON  – Today, the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) announced the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) as the winner of its 2021 Champions of Access award. AAM CEO Dan Leonard presented the award at Access! 2021, the association’s annual meeting.

Dan Leonard

Founded in 1983, the Black Women’s Health Imperative is the only national organization dedicated solely to improving the health and wellness of our nation’s 21 million Black women and girls, physically, emotionally and financially.

BWHI leverages data and tells human stories to educate about the devastating racial disparities that exist in health care while strongly and successfully advocating for policies to remove barriers to access.

BWHI and AAM have worked closely together to move our country toward our shared goal of greater access to high-quality, lower-cost medications by supporting various initiatives in recent years, including ending REMS abuses and advocating against increased exclusivity for biosimilars in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, among others.

The Champions of Access award recognizes BWHI’s advocacy on behalf of Black women and girls seeking access to the medicines they need, including generics and biosimilars, and for its support for policies that give these essential medicines an opportunity to compete in the market.

Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of BWHI, said, “Ensuring Black women can access generic drugs and biosimilars is particularly essential, especially as we consider diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect Black communities. Our work together is equal parts education and awareness, advocacy and policy, as we address misinformation, stigma and confusion surrounding the safety and efficacy of generic drugs. We are also proud to stand alongside AAM to advocate for public policies that get life-saving generic medicines into the hands of patients as quickly as possible.”

Dan Leonard, president and CEO of AAM, said, “I am very pleased to present this award to the Black Women’s Health Imperative on behalf of AAM, its members and the patients that we all serve. For almost four decades, BWHI has been a tireless advocate on behalf of Black women and girls whose voices too often go unheard. We are very grateful to BWHI for their partnership to increase access for those who need it most, and I am proud to present them with the 2021 Champion of Access Award.”