New alliance aims to improve vaccine rate among refugees, immigrants

A statewide coalition of refugee and immigrant service leaders has launched a group to address public health inequities among this population in Iowa.

The executive committee of the Refugee and Immigrant Vaccine Alliance, or RIVA, is made up of representatives from Nisaa African Family Services, Latinx Immigrants of Iowa, ArtForce Iowa, Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center, or EMBARC, and the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The coalition is offering member organizations assistance with vaccine clinic coordination, multilingual educational resources, funding and peer-to-peer support, according to a news release.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequities within the health care system, resulting in a disproportionate toll on refugees, immigrants and other populations, according to Marine Corona, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

As a result, RIVA hopes to “mobilize and ensure representation, resources and vaccine access are available to combat and address health inequities,“ Corona said.

Since 2020, these organization have helped vaccinated 1,500 people against COVID-19 by hosting 31 vaccine clinics, the news release states.

“Accessible public health information plays a key role in building social health equity among communities,” said Henny Ohr, executive director of EMBARC. “We need community leadership to successfully combat disparities in health care.”

More information about RIVA can be found at rivaiowa.org.

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