Category A: Big City Health Coalition (BCHC) Member Jurisdictions - The public health system represents a complex and broad range of agencies, organizations, and individuals in which each plays a significant role in affecting the health of the nation. The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of 35 of America’s largest metropolitan health departments (HDs) to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of the 61 million people they serve. Together, these public health officials directly affect the health and well-being of nearly one in five Americans. BCHC was founded in 2002 to provide big city health officials with a core network of peers facing similar challenges and experiences. BCHC seeks to support governmental public health departments in our member jurisdictions, namely big cities (and where there is no city health department, a county HD) through capacity-building assistance (CBA) as outlined in Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health (CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). We will provide specialized CBA at the scope and scale necessary to protect and promote public health in cities with large, diverse populations. BCHC will accomplish this by strengthening partnerships with members and key stakeholders to identify and fill critical gaps in public health infrastructure and promote equity and innovation. BCHC has demonstrated capability, expertise, resources, national reach, and a track record of providing CBA that supports our nation’s largest health departments, in particular by facilitating sharing of promising practices and effective policies and programs within the strategic areas outlined in in this funding opportunity.
