Firings, funding cuts, resignations and reorganizations by the Trump administration have hobbled U.S. public health to historic degrees. With the start of APHA 2025 on Sunday, thousands of health experts from the U.S. and around the world have come together in Washington, D.C., to discuss solutions and next steps. This year’s theme is “Making the Public’s Health a National Priority.”

At the General Opening Session, “Mission Possible — Rebuilding the U.S. Health System and Reestablishing Health Leadership to Become the Healthiest Nation,” APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin talked with public health experts about ways forward. The emphasis was on how to reclaim public health when the Trump administration finally ends.

Benjamin compared public health under Robert Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services, to a housing burning to its foundation. But there is a positive. Rebuilding the house offers opportunities to re-think problematic aspects of the house, such as its architectural design or plumbing system. 

Advocates have a chance to rebuild public health in a more effective manner than it was, even prior to the second Trump administration, Benjamin said.

Mandy Cohen, who headed up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from July 2023 to January 2025, said de-siloing — something she began at the agency in her first year — is important across the public health field. In addition, the field needs to show public health successes to win back the trust of the general public. That means spotting the biggest problems, creating workable strategies and implementing them.

“It has never been more important to prioritize,” Cohen said. “You’re not going to be able to do A-to-Z. Show the public that things are getting done.”

Joshua Sharftein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said now is the time to reach across the aisle to develop relationships with decision-makers who may have different political and public health views.

“It’s easier to politicize than to de-politicize,” Sharftein said. “It is not just standing our ground; it is finding common ground. Make those connections now.”

Outgoing APHA President Deanna Wathington, who is clinical director of REACHUP Inc., a nonprofit focused on maternal care and child health, roused the thousands in attendance by crystalizing the role of public health professionals in rebuilding the health care system post Trump. 

We cannot be complacent, Wathington said. We cannot wait for the proverbial U.S. calvary to ride in and protect public health.

“We are the calvary,” she said. “History has its eyes on us. Let us meet the moment.”

Photos: Georges Benjamin; Mandy Cohen and Joshua Sharftein. Photos courtesy EZ Event Photography.