Hundreds rally for public health in Washington, D.C.

PUBLIC health; ASSOCIATIONS, institutions, etc.; ANNUAL meetings; PUBLIC demonstrations

UNITED StatesReport Available; WASHINGTON (D.C.)Report Available

This article reports that hundreds of American Public Health Association (APHA) members attending the APHA 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. have converged on Capitol Hill to demand that Congress increase public health funding. The Walk the Hill for Public Health event, which took place on the morning of November 9, 2004, included an outdoor rally and trips to congressional offices. During the office visits, participants talked about the need to increase public health funding as well as invest in prevention and public health work force training. Special guest U.S. Representative Jim Moran (D-Va.), an ardent supporter of public health issues, also spoke to rally participants. APHA staff provided signs printed with the names of all APHA Sections and Special Primary Interest Groups so attendees could gather according to their primary public health interest. APHA staff had prepared an individual packet for every member of Congress that included a letter urging the member to fund public health programs at their highest possible levels, as investing in America's health and safety has never been more important than it is today. The even took place just weeks before both chambers of Congress passed a massive omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2005 that included funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Indian Health Service, domestic and global HIV/AIDS funding and much more.