FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media Relations
Statement from APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD
I have much hope and confidence in the diverse and outstanding leadership team assembled by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as they work to reestablish the rule of law and commit to issues that play a role in strengthening public health in America.
I look forward to working with the administration as well as the 117th Congress to address our many shared priorities and support APHA’s efforts to promise a brighter future for our families, our communities and our country.
First and foremost, these priorities begin with ensuring an effective COVID-19 pandemic response and vaccine distribution that is finally based on science and transparency, and a renewed reliance on the expertise of public health officials when making nationwide decisions on safety guidelines.
I also applaud the incoming administration’s commitment to reversing the devastating impacts of climate change and aggressively dismantling the structural racism that that has long disadvantaged communities of color.
I encourage and support the use of all of the available tools to address these pressing issues. APHA decried the previous administration’s decisions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and halt funding to the World Health Organization. By rejoining the Paris agreement and WHO in the first days of his term, President Biden acknowledges the importance of working with our global partners to improve the health of all people by combating both the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change simultaneously. We must lead together.
It is time to prioritize protecting public health over politics, and I am confident this administration will rise to meet that challenge and provide the leadership our country desperately needs.
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The American Public Health Association champions the health of all people and all communities. We are the only organization that combines a nearly 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.