APHA announces new Center for Climate, Health and Equity

Yesterday, at a small networking reception during APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego, Association leaders made a big announcement: APHA will soon launch a new Center for Climate, Health and Equity.

"Climate change is one of the biggest public health threats of our time," said APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin at the reception. "Building on more than a decade of APHA work, this center will serve as the epicenter for public health action on climate change. At APHA, we put a health equity lens on everything we do. This is especially important as climate change disproportionately affects the health of some segments of the population more than others."

With strong leadership and an emphasis on evidence, APHA hopes to move our nation’s climate change and health agenda forward with a focus on the most vulnerable among us. The announcement was met with a big round of applause, and Benjamin added, "The earth is not flat and climate change is real. We have work to do. We'll be reaching out to all our funders, members and Affiliates as we further develop this exciting new center within the APHA Center for Public Health Policy."

Surili Patel, deputy director of the APHA Center for Public Health Policy, added: "This new center will help expand the capacity of the public health field to take action on climate change and health. We increased awareness and generated momentum with our 2017 Year of Climate Change and Health and its focus on vulnerable populations. This is just the next step in education, engagement and action."

APHA will release more information about the new Center for Climate Change, Health and Equity in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out APHA's climate change work at www.apha.org/climate-change.

Read more about this story in the January 2019 issue of The Nation's Health.

In the photo at top, Surili Patel, left, deputy director of the APHA Center for Public Health Policy, helps announce the new APHA Center for Climate, Health and Equity. Photo by Jim Ezell, courtesy EZ Event Photography