ATLANTA – State Representative Kim Schofield (D-Atlanta) commends two national African American legislative organizations for publicly recognizing the impact that lupus has on the African American community. The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative (NOBEL) Women each adopted separate resolutions that urge the federal and state governments to provide access to lupus treatment and increase awareness of the disease.
“As a leader in both of these organizations, I am excited about the passage of these two lupus resolutions,” said Rep. Schofield. “I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to personally introduce NOBEL Women’s resolution, which has been adopted into the organization’s policy agenda. Both resolutions will be transmitted to the president, vice-president, members of the U.S. Congress and other federal and state officials as appropriate. Together, we will continue to work to make our voices heard on this serious issue on behalf of all Americans, especially people of color, who suffer from lupus.”
The NBCSL and NOBEL Women’s resolutions each address the impact lupus has on Americans, especially young women of color. Lupus is two to three times more prevalent among women of color as roughly one in 500 young African-American women suffer from the disease. These resolutions state that a lack of research and development into diseases that impact people of color has been historically underfunded; this lack of funding for research has left lupus incurable and enhanced health disparities among people of color. In the resolutions, these national organizations urge all states to add any FDA approved therapies indicated for the treatment of lupus or lupus nephritis to their formularies promptly. The resolutions also urge states to not restrict access to lupus or lupus nephritis therapies through restrictive and burdensome processes so that patients may access these therapies expeditiously. Additionally, the resolutions request that policymakers enact policies to raise awareness of the disease.
Rep. Schofield serves on the board of NOBEL Women, which is a non-profit, non-partisan organization primarily composed of current and former African American women legislators and appointed officials. NOBEL Women serves as a global voice to address a myriad of issues affecting the lives of all women. It is comprised of more than 278 women in public service and the private sector and provides educational forums to address major public policy issues, particularly in the areas of health, telecommunications, education, economic development and financial policies.
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators represents and serves the interests of African American state legislators. With more than 700 members representing more than 60 million Americans, NBCSL serves as a national network, advocate and catalyst for public policy innovation, information exchange and joint action on critical issues affecting African Americans and other marginalized communities.
For more information on the NOBEL Women, please visit www.nobel-women.org.
For more information on NBCSL, please visit www.nbcsl.org.
*Editor’s Note: Copies of each resolution are attached below.
Representative Kim Schofield represents the citizens of District 60, which includes portions of Clayton and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves on the Health & Human Services, Interstate Cooperation and Small Business Development committees.
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