American Public Health Association Concludes 2007 Annual Meeting

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 08 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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The American Public Health Association (APHA) concludes its 135th Annual Meeting today in Washington, D.C., where more than 14,000 public health professionals from around the world met to address the nation's top health challenges.

"Thousands of public health experts came together in the nation's capital to learn from each other and think about new ways to address issues as wide-ranging as pandemic influenza and school bullying," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of the American Public Health Association. "It was rewarding to meet so many distinguished colleagues and learn about the great work they do every day in their efforts to protect and promote the public's health."

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, and Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, kicked off the meeting Sunday, Nov. 4. Over the next three days, more than 1,000 scientific sessions provided attendees with the most up-to-date public health research. The meeting closes today with comments from Sanjay Gupta, MD, a practicing neurosurgeon and award-winning journalist with CNN.

Highlights of the meeting included the announcement of a new initiative that will culminate with climate change being the theme of the 2008 National Public Health Week in April and the release of America's Health Rankings in conjunction with the United Health Foundation and Partnership for Prevention.

Additionally, APHA's Governing Council adopted new policies related to:

- Addressing the urgent threats of global climate change;

- Developing public health interventions for the prevention and control of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs);

- Calling for global ban on lead use;

- Addressing obesity and health disparities through federal nutrition and agriculture policies;

- Opposing feminine hygiene douching practices;

- Recommending breastfeeding for first six months and one or two years thereafter; and

- Supporting school information sharing for public health purposes.

Next year's APHA Annual Meeting will be held Oct. 25-29, 2008, in San Diego, Calif.

Learn more about APHA at http://www.apha.org/about/news/boilerplate.htm.

American Public Health Association