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National Public Health Week kicks off Monday, will rally communities around ‘Building Bridges to Better Health’

Date: Apr 01 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media Relations

APHA’s annual National Public Health Week observance kicks off Monday, with communities nationwide planning events that recognize public health contributions, highlight the power of prevention, advocate for health in all policies, and promote health equity. 

This year’s NPHW celebration, which runs April 5-11 and is entirely virtual, rallies around a theme of “Building Bridges to Better Health.” Organizers chose the theme to help jumpstart conversations on ways to rebuild, strengthen and uplift communities in the midst of the pandemic and in its aftermath.

“The past year has taken an enormous toll on our nation’s public health workers, whose critical efforts to keep the coronavirus in check and coordinate an unprecedented vaccination campaign are far from over,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of APHA, which organized the first NPHW more than 25 years ago. “This NPHW is a chance to honor those working on the front lines every day to protect our health — from both novel and everyday threats — and to recommit to building the healthiest nation in one generation.”

NPHW events will launch with an APHA-hosted forum on Monday, April 5, from 1-3 p.m. ET. The panel discussion will highlight grassroots organizers within public health and will be livestreamed and open to the public. 

Enjoy family trivia? On Tuesday, April 6, NPHW will host a family trivia night at both 6 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT. Participants can join one of the two virtual trivia events to compete for prizes.

The always-popular NPHW Twitter Chat takes place Wednesday, April 7, from 2-3 p.m. ET. The chat aims to foster conversations on all things public health, including health equity, climate change, education and mental health. APHA’s Twitter accounts — @PublicHealth and @NPHW — will be joined by federal agencies, leading nonprofits and public health practitioners and advocates from coast to coast. Participants can follow the chat using the hashtag #NPHWchat.

NPHW will also host a Student Day on Thursday, April 8, that features an afternoon of webinars organized in partnership with APHA’s Student Assembly. Webinar topics include “Lessons in Mentoring,” which will offer insights on building mentee-mentor relationships; and “Get Hired After Graduation,” a panel a young public health professionals who will speak about their experiences navigating the pandemic to find a job.

Each day of NPHW 2021 also has its own daily theme, starting with “Rebuilding” on Monday, April 5, and ending with “Elevating the Essential and Health Workforce” on Sunday, April 11.

“Every day of NPHW includes free events for people to check out, and free tools for people to use and share in their communities,” said Lindsey Wahowiak, director of Affiliate affairs at APHA. “And APHA has created event-planning tools that have supported dozens of communities and schools across the country to host their own virtual events. With everyone’s participation, this is truly a ‘national’ NPHW.”

To learn more about NPHW events happening in your community and how to get involved in this year’s observance, visit www.nphw.org.

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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.