She played an important role in the creation of the Healthy Children Ready to Learn Initiative. Under this program, their medical provider to ensure that they got a chance to read at a young age gave children free books. She also worked with different organizations to promote immunization of children and childhood prevention efforts. She called upon the Health and Human Services Inspector General to address the issue of underage drinking. She knew that the only way to fight underage drinking and smoking involved creating effective laws and effective tactics to enforced them.
She used her position of Surgeon General to raise awareness about the AIDS virus and the increase of cases of children with AIDS. In 1997, she spoke on a radio program in Puerto Rico about the AIDS crisis in the island. AIDS is a big epidemic in the United States. Even though Latinos account for thirteen percent of the population we made up nineteen percent of new AIDS cases in the year 2000 according to the Center for Disease Control. Puerto Rico has the nation's third-largest proportion of AIDS cases, after Washington, D.C and New York State.
Being a native of Puerto Rico, she worked to ensure that the issues that Puerto Ricans face in the island weren't overlooked. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and the issues that residents of the island face concern the entire nation. Even though Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States they do not get the representation that they should. They face many of the problems of immigrants and minorities. They deal with poverty, drug abuse, crime and discrimination.
More than half of the children population in Puerto Rico (58.4%) lives below the federal poverty level, according to recent data release from the National Council of La Raza. The majority of pre-school age children, three-four years old, (59.2%), are not enrolled in school. Puerto Rico has a higher percentage of children born with low birth weight, compared to Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the main land.
Antonia C. Novella was born as Antonia Coella. ... In 1978, Novello joined the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. ... During her years at NIH, Novello earned an M.P. ... Antonia Novello was appointed Surgeon General by President Bush, beginning her tenure on March 9, 1990. ...
As Antonia C. Novello stated, "The National Minimum Drinking Age of 1984 started out with five exemptions that in some states became loopholes" (Novello 2). ... Lawmakers have been preaching that schools work alcohol education in the school curriculum (Novello 125). ...
Cultural Anthropology White Privilege I Don't Think So! Mr. Colin Powell Chief of Staff Black Male Ms. Condoleeza Rice National Security Advisor Black Female Mr. David Satcher Surgeon General Black Male Ms. Antonia Novello ex. Surgeon General Hispanic Female Mr. Thurgood...
