The goal of A Fund for Public Health is to narrow the widening gaps of local health and social disparities. The goal will be achieved by funding nonprofit organizations, government entities and educational institutions, and religious organizations actively using proven methods to address public health and social justice issues for the deceleration of disparities that often carry over from one generation to the next. A Fund for Public Health was established by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City to honor Fernando Guerra, MD, MPH for his service on several of their advisory committees, especially for his work on the commission to establish standards of a high performing health care system.

Examples of widening gaps of disparities include:

• School performance; dropout, absenteeism
• Unplanned childbearing experiences
• Shortened life-expectancy; chronic diseases
• Reported and confirmed cases of abused and neglected children
• Incidents of domestic violence
• Unemployment, poverty and food security