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.
