Title: APHA Advocacy and Policy News
Author:
Section/SPIG: Food and Nutrition
Issue Date:
2004 GOVERNING COUNCIL REPORT
Joan Trendell, MS, RD, Anna-Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, RD, LDN, and Beth Dixon, PhD, MPH, as Governing Councilors represented the Food and Nutrition Section during sessions that took place during the Association’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in November. The business of the Association included elections of new leaders, consideration of new policy statements as well as amendments to the APHA By-Laws and Constitution, establishment of priorities for the work of the Association, and reports from various organizational units of APHA.
ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP ELECTED
One of the highlights of the Governing Council was the election of Food and Nutrition Section member Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, RD, to the Executive Board of APHA. Nell Gottlieb, PhD, MA, from the Public Health Education and Health Promotion Section, and Howard Spivak, MD, from the Maternal and Child Health Section, were also elected to the Executive Board. Patricia D. Mail, PhD, MPH, MS, MA, was elected APHA President-Elect. Melvin Shipp, OD, MPH, DrPH, was reelected Treasurer, and Alan R. Hinman, MD, MPH, was reelected for his fourth term as Speaker of the Governing Council. The Governing Council elected Gerald Ohta, MPH, Victor Sidel, MD, and Joseph Telfair, DrPH, MSW, to the APHA Nominating Committee. Previously elected Walter Tsou, MD, MPH, assumed his new role as President of APHA at the close of the Annual Meeting. The Executive Board chose Linda Degutis, DrPH, MSN, as Chair and Jay Berhardt, PhD, MPH, as the Vice-Chair of the Board for the coming year. In other news about APHA leadership positions, the APHA Executive Board and Director appointed Food and Nutrition Section member Geraldine Perry-Allen, DrPH, RD, Chair of the Science Board.
APHA BY-LAW AND CONSTITUTION CHANGES
A proposal passed that requires nominees for a Section office to have their individual membership current as of Feb. 1 of the year of the election. A proposal to change the title of the APHA Executive Director to Chief Executive Officer was not passed by the Governing Council. A proposal to allow the InterSectional Council to elect their representative to the Executive Board, rather than the Chair automatically serving that role, passed. The Governing Council approved the recommendation from the Task Force on Association Improvement and Reorganization to change the student body’s name from Public Health Student Caucus to the Student Assembly, as well as change the status from a Caucus to a group more similar to a Section.
PRIORITY AREAS FOR APHA
For the third consecutive year, the Governing Council selected health disparities, access to care and public health infrastructure as the top priority areas of the Association.
POLICIES OF APHA
The Governing Council adopted 20 new policies, including six latebreakers. Policies serve as official stance of APHA on a variety of public health issues. Food and Nutrition Section sponsored policies included “Nutrition labeling in fast-food and other chain restaurants,” and the latebreaker “Supporting the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.” Thanks to Section Members Margo Wootan, PhD, and Patricia Risica, DrPH, RD, for their work on drafting these policies. The complete 2004 APHA policies are available at <www.apha.org/legislative/policy/index.htm>. In addition, the Governing Council archived about 100 outdated APHA policies, of which many were reviewed and recommended for archiving by the Food and Nutrition Section leadership earlier in the year.
OTHER BUSINESS OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
• Chose “public health and human rights” as the program emphasis for the 2006 Annual meeting to be held Nov. 4-8 in Boston.
• Passed a procedural measure that all future APHA Annual Meetings beyond those already contracted (which are through 2011) will be held in smoke-free cities, with exceptions possible when made by the Executive Board. The measure also specified that APHA work with Affiliates to support local efforts to promote smoke-free policies in host cities already established.
• Took part in a roundtable discussion on membership issues with the Task Force on Association Improvement and Reorganization.
• Asked the Executive Board to reassess APHA’s relationship with the Pfizer Company, sponsor of Annual Meeting tote bags, and report back at the Governing Council mid-year conference call.
• Directed a work group of the Governing Council to assess issues regarding the nomination process.
• Asked the Executive Board to discuss the reorganization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its impact and report back at the mid-year conference call.
• Directed APHA to conduct an awareness and advocacy campaign to the public with a theme of “health care is a right, not a privilege.”
• Created a task force to explore the issue of joint membership between APHA and Affiliates.
The Governing Council will hold its next meeting as a conference call on June 20, 2005, and meet again at the APHA Annual Meeting in New Orleans Nov. 5-9, 2005.
For additional information about Governing Council actions, please contact Food and Nutrition Section Councilors or visit <www.apha.org/private/gc>.
School Wellness Policies
According to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, all local educational agencies are required to establish and implement policies that address nutrition and physical activity by fall 2006. These policies must include goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and nutrition guidelines for all foods available on school campus during the school day. In response to this requirement, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), of which the APHA is a steering committee member, is developing model school wellness policies for dissemination to school districts to assist and guide the development of their wellness policies. NANA’s model wellness policies will include recommendations for increasing the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables sold and served on school campuses through the school meals, snacks, vending machines, and other venues. NANA plans to disseminate these model wellness policies in spring 2005.
Child Nutrition Legislative Goals 2005
Following up on last year’s child nutrition reauthorization, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), of which APHA a steering committee member, plans to continue its advocacy related to the nutritional quality of the Child Nutrition Programs. NANA’s legislative goals related to child nutrition this year include: 1) expanding the Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program; 2) securing appropriations to strengthen nutrition education in schools through the Team Nutrition Networks program; and 3) improving the nutritional quality of foods sold out of school vending machines, a la carte lines, and other venues outside the school meal programs. NANA looks forward to working with you toward these goals.