Travel just seven miles from the Loop in central Chicago to the city’s West Side, and the life expectancy of residents drops by a shocking 16 years. Cross the border from Algeria, where residents average 76 years of life, to Mali, where it falls to 61 years. Persisting and preventable inequities by location, race, and socioeconomic status are a global phenomenon that can strangle family and community resilience. In the United States, life expectancy has fallen for two consecutive years, a feat unrivalled since the 1918 influenza epidemic and the catastrophe of World War I combined to cut so many lives short. How can we close these gaps?