Advocacy for Public Health
Advocating for better national public health
APHA, in coordination with its members and state and regional Affiliates, works with key decisionmakers to shape public policy to address today's ongoing public health concerns.
Those include ensuring access to care, protecting funding for core public health programs and services and eliminating health disparities.
APHA is also working on other critical public health issues including public health and emergency preparedness, food safety, hunger and nutrition, climate change and other environmental health issues, public health infrastructure, disease control, international health and tobacco control.
Latest Updates
Watch: Making sense of the buzzwords and protecting public health
You’ve probably heard the buzzwords — "Big Beautiful Bill," "Reconciliation," "FY 2025," "FY 2026," "Rescission Package." What do these terms mean, and how could they impact public health funding in your community? Watch here.
Take Action
- Participate in APHA's legislative action alerts and urge policymakers to vote for public health.
- Tap into APHA's resources and Speak for Health.
- Coming to D.C.? Make visiting your members of Congress part of your trip! Check out our sample email meeting requests, materials to bring to your meeting, Frequently Asked Questions and more.
- Get involved in APHA's policy statement development process.
Vote for Health
- Check out our voting toolkit for information on voter registration, voting deadlines, voting healthy guidelines and more.
Stay Informed
- Visit APHA's health reform pages for reports, analyses, fact sheets, APHA statements and other resources on the Affordable Care Act.
- See APHA and coalition letters sent to policymakers about public health legislation and testimony, comments and briefs.
- Sign up for APHA action alerts, legislative updates and more.
- View our Legislative Update page and stay informed about important federal legislative activity and APHA's advocacy efforts.
- See how your members of Congress voted on key public health issues.
- Watch a webinar on distinguishing between advocacy, lobbying and education, highlighting what advocates are allowed to do.
More about APHA Advocacy
- APHA Action Board roster, activities and meeting minutes
- Submit a Section leadership-approved advocacy action request to APHA staff
- Public Health Advocacy: The Legal Basics (PDF) — presentation from the APHA 2020 Annual Meeting (ChangeLab Solutions)
- Coalitions — APHA coordinates the CDC Coalition and Friends of HRSA
- Learn about The Power of Advocacy (PDF)