RFK Jr. wants to target chronic disease in US tribes. A key program to do that was gutted

CHANDLER, Arizona (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent time in tribal communities in Arizona and New Mexico this week highlighting ways they are trying to prevent chronic disease among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, something he has said is one of his top priorities.

But Kennedy didn’t appear to publicly address a Native health program using traditional medicine and foods to tackle disproportionate rates of conditions like diabetes and liver disease. The program, called Healthy Tribes, was gutted in this month’s federal health layoffs.