FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 4, 2003



Women In The NAACP Hosts "Put Baby Back to Sleep Summit: A Journey for Children"

African American Babies at Greater Risk for

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Infant Mortality



Women In The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(WIN) are hosting

"Put Baby Back to Sleep Summit: A Journey for Children" from March 14 - 15, 2003 in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency at Macy's Plaza, 711 South Hope Street.

It is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Women In The NAACP (WIN), the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. to reduce infant mortality, particularly the risk of crib death, also known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), among African American infants.

Thelma Daley, National Director, Women In The NAACP, said, "This unprecedented summit provides an extraordinary opportunity for people to come together to take decisive steps to save the lives of our children who are at a greater risk of infant mortality and SIDS than their white-counterparts."

WIN is offering summit registration, travel and accommodations to participants in the NAACP Region One communities of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Daley said: "It is our good fortune that WIN's commitment to ending the health disparities within the African American community is mirrored by NICHD, a part of the National Institutes of Health. WIN values their support as preeminent leaders for biomedical research in the areas of family health development."

NICHD officials will conduct SIDS risk reduction training and outreach seminars that provide summit participants with educational techniques, strategies, and promotional materials.



The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.


###

CONTACT: NAACP Office of Communications, Sheila Douglas, 410.580.5125