Precision Medicine

WHEREAS, the emerging field of precision medicine focuses on providing the right treatment for the right patient at the right time; and

WHEREAS, on January 30, 2015, President Barack Obama unveiled his Precision Medicine Initiative, which calls for a $215 million investment to support research and innovation in the field; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Health Disparities and Inequalities Report in 2013 documented significant health care disparities for African Americans in areas such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, infant mortality, and cancer; and

WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest death rates for cancer; and

WHEREAS, precision medicine promises to move health care away from a "one size fits all" approach that overlooks the differences in the genetics and environments of African Americans.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ("NAACP") supports further investment in the field of precision medicine and the advancement of new targeted disease prevention and treatments that will reduce disparities in health care; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NAACP urges leaders in the scientific and medical communities to ensure that people of color are fully represented in the genetic research, patient and population information, and environmental and lifestyle data that informs and fuels precision medicine; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NAACP supports the Precision Medicine Initiative and urges federal legislators to champion the Initiative under the new administration; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the NAACP exhorts federal, state and local governments to use findings gleaned through precision medicine research and practice to advance public health practice, eliminate health disparities and advance health equity for all Americans.