On April 4, 2016, the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge was officially launched.
The Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge (the Challenge) is a collaboration between the Aetna Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the National Association of Counties (NACo) to encourage small to midsize U.S. cities, counties and federally recognized tribes to create a positive health impact. CEOs for Cities serves as the managing partner to administer the Challenge’s activities.
The Challenge will identify the best practices for achieving community and individual health, wellness and health equity. Additionally, the Challenge promotes collaboration and community-wide involvement and will identify nationally replicable models of health.
Competing cities, counties and tribal nations will move the needle toward creating healthier and more equitable communities using measurable criteria over several years. The Challenge will award $1.5 million in prizes to cities and counties that build cross-sector teams around health issues of critical importance to their communities.
The Challenge encourages communities to establish a cross-sector team that will focus on improving a specific domain of health in the community. Domains include Healthy Behaviors, Community Safety, Built Environment, Economic, and Environmental Exposure.
Collaborating with Aetna Foundation, APHA and NACo to prepare for the launch of the Challenge has been exciting. We are looking forward to our continued work as we administer the Challenge and support communities through the application period and beyond.
Apply by May 31, 2016.