UPDATED: The IH Section’s Dr. Omah Khan, chair of the Program Committee, is the co-editor of a recently published new book, Megacities and Global Health, along with Dr. Greg Pappas. The press release is below. The book signing will be from 12-1PM on Monday, October 31 inside of the APHA Press Booth #3051.
New book first to examine Megacities as emerging global health challenge
Washington, D.C., August 3, 2011 — Steady population growth concentrated in urban areas around the world has given rise to a new global health challenge. Megacities, aptly named urban centers with more than 10 million inhabitants, present a new realm of public health challenges for their residents and the world.
Megacities & Global Health, a new book published by APHA Press, examines the unique set of problems that arise when cities reach a certain size: poverty, infectious disease, overcrowding, environmental hazards, among others. These challenges have implications for the rest of the world as well. According to co-editors Omar A. Khan, MD, MHS, FAAFP, and Gregory Pappas, MD, PhD, megacities are strategically important in the global order, and the health challenges of the world’s largest cities will take on global significance.
“What is new is the emergence of the megacity as a unique pattern of urban settlement and as the subject of research,” note the editors in the book’s preface. Currently there are 25 megacities in the world, and that number is increasing. Public health plays an important role in ensuring global stability, say Khan and Pappas.
“This book is the first of surely many that will come as a result of the growth of, concentrated population centers around the globe,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of the American Public Health Association. “It’s an important contribution to addressing the growing health concerns of megacities.”
The book, broken down into global regions, draws on the expertise of more than a dozen senior authors and thought leaders. It targets a broad audience, including development experts, global & urban health specialists, teachers of global public health, and graduate and undergraduate-level students of public health, especially urban health and international health.
For author interviews with Drs. Khan or Pappas, please contact david.hartogs@apha.org or okhan@medscape.com.
Ordering Information: Published by APHA Press, Megacities & Global Health,978-087553-0031, 350 pages, softbound, $70.00 ($49.00 APHA member price) plus shipping and handling. To order, call toll free 888-320-APHA; fax 888-361-APHA; e-mail apha@pbd.com or visit www.aphabookstore.org.
Please send requests for a review copy on letterhead to David Hartogs, APHA, 800 I Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001-3710; email david.hartogs@apha.org; or fax to 202-777-2531.
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