Dr. Akwatu Khenti is the Special Advisor to the City of Toronto's Targeted COVID Equity Action Plan and the Chair of the Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity. Dr. Khenti is an Assistant Professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health where he also serves as Special Advisor on Equity and Inclusion and an Affiliate Scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He has a PhD in Health Policy and Equity from York University and served as the Assistant Deputy Minister for the Province of Ontario's Anti-Racism Directorate, as well as CAMH's Director of Transformative Global Health.
As Chair of the Task Force, he brings his expertise in anti-Black racism, mental health and the adaptation of mainstream health interventions to African and Caribbean cultures.
The Community of Anti-Racism Practice
We provide high level expertise and evidence of extensive experiences in change management, anti-racism and anti-oppression strategies, and alternative approaches for creating safe spaces for Black, Indigenous and Racialized as well as non-stigmatized Canadians.
Our practice also provides reliable and brief questions you can ask your team to assess the scope of institutional challenges which are complemented with an equity framework with which to analyze trends and patterns.
Features
As part of the Toronto Voices vaccine engagement series, the City of Toronto has released the delivery of a personal message from the Black Scientists' Task Force 's very own Chair, Dr. Akwatu Khenti.
His four minute message encapsulates and contextualizes historic anti-Black racism faced by Black communities and appeals to all at a humane level about the importance of vaccination.
Vaccine hesitancy is amongst the highest in the Black Canadian community. Rev. Wendell Gibbs, Dr. Isaac Odame, and Dr. Akwatu Khenti sit down to discuss, and debunk a lot of the misinformation regarding covid-19, and the real reasons for vaccine hesitancy in the Black Community.
Vaccination rate in Black communities “lower than general population"
Black scientists say misinformation of vaccines
hurt Black communities
Goffman, 1963
Evidence shows that effective stigma reduction approaches must be comprehensive, multifaceted, and able to address various levels of stigma within a setting.
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