
Special Olympics Healthy Communities began in 2012 with an investment from the Golisano Foundation. As of 2024, Healthy Communities has been activated in 154 Special Olympics Programs and has yielded athlete engagement, increased attention to health from athletes and caregivers, and significantly increased health systems partnerships. Through support from the Golisano Foundation, and in the United States in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Special Olympics Healthy Communities works to increase access to quality health care and effective prevention programming to improve the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
In addition to raising awareness about health disparities facing people with IDD, Healthy Communities activates public and private sector partners to adopt more inclusive practices, train and empower athletes and caregivers to become vocal advocates, and ultimately make it possible for people with IDD to live healthy lives in their own communities.

Arizona
Arkansas
California (Northern/Nevada)
California (Southern)
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Canada – Alberta
Canada- British Columbia
Canada – Manitoba
Canada - Northwest Territories
Canada – Nova Scotia
Canada – Prince Edward Island
Canada – Quebec
Trinidad and Tobago
Bangladesh
Bharat (India)
Cambodia
Fiji
Malaysia
Maldives
Nepal
New Zealand
Nippon (Japan)
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Serendib (Sri Lanka)
Thailand
Timor Leste
Vietnam
Cote D’Ivoire
Ethiopia
Ghana
Kenya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Namibia
Nigeria
Rwanda
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Bahrain
Egypt
Iran
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Chinese Taipei
Hong Kong
Korea
Macau
Mongolia
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Cyprus
Czech Republic
France
Georgia Republic
Great Britain
Greece
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Kazakhstan
Lithuania
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkiye
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Through the Healthy Communities model, Special Olympics Programs are undertaking key health activities, including the following:
- Training health professionals, workers and students to provide quality care to people with IDD.
- Conducting Healthy Athletes screenings in local communities with help from clinical volunteers;
- Developing partnerships and referral networks so that people with IDD have places to go to receive further care;
- Partnering with governments, health-care entities and community advocate groups to support efforts that increase access to care and prevention programming;
- Providing ongoing health education and prevention activities to athletes in areas such as: physical activity; nutrition; hydration; malaria prevention, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
- Supporting and training family members, athletes and coaches as health advocates, most notably through the Health Messenger program for athletes.