Author: ihsection

Stand up for gun violence prevention with a few actions you can take in the coming week

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Policy and Advocacy, Section Announcements

Dear IH Friends,

Here is a message from our colleagues at APHA and the MCH Gun Violence Prevention Workgroup:

Now is the time to stand up for gun violence prevention (GVP) in our Nation.  Many of you have asked what you can do to promote the public health approach to gun violence prevention. Below are actions to take in the coming week:

1.    Please plan on attending one of over 817 March for Our Lives events worldwide on Saturday, March 24th. Click on this link to register for the March:  March for Our Lives (https://event.marchforourlives.com/event/march-our-lives-events)

Possible Signage for the March for our Lives:

-Gun violence is a public health crisis.

-We need more funding for gun violence prevention research

-Gun violence is a public health issue

2.    Visit the APHA website Gun Violence Page:   Gun Violence. (https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/gun-violence)

3.     Share AJPH Gun Violence Research. (http://ajph.aphapublications.org/topic/gunviolence)

4.    Get active in your communities. Engage at the grassroots level.  Join your local GVP organizations and promote a public health approach to end the gun violence epidemic.

In collaboration,

The APHA Intersectional Council (ISC) and MCH Gun Violence Prevention Workgroups

Happy #InternationalWomensDay!

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Guest Blog, Human Rights, Policy and Advocacy, Section Announcements

A message from our section chair, Laura Altobelli

In 1909 and 1917, women organized to demand better wages, equal working conditions, and the right to vote.

In 1975, the United Nations established March 8 for the annual recognition of these struggles.

On this International Women’s Day, the tendency is to think that today celebrates women just for BEING WOMEN — instead of its true meaning….THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN.

Today is to commemorate the hard work that has not yet ended, and to celebrate those women (and some men), past, present, and future, who push the boundaries toward empowerment of women and girls and gender equality in all aspects of life.

Today is an annual call to continue the struggle.

In international health and global development work, this is arguably the most important of our callings — to reach the 5th Sustainable Development Goal: to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,’ after which all other SDGs will be easier to reach.

Have a good day and keep up the struggle!

Action Alert: Call your senators today and urge them to lift the ban on CDC research on gun violence

by ihsection, posted in Action Alert, APHA IH Section, Policy and Advocacy, Research, Section Announcements

Sent on behalf of Paul Freeman, IH Section, Action Board

In 2016, the scientific community labeled gun violence a public health crisis and called for a greater public health response including federal research. We desperately need action on gun violence and prevention, but evidence-based decisions can’t be made because of an anti-science ban on research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Call your senators today and urge them to lift the ban on CDC research on gun violence.

Congress is working right now to put the finishing touches on its spending bill, which means that now is the perfect time to ask your senators to lift the ban on gun violence research at the CDC.
Call 855-589-5698 to reach the Capital switchboard and Press 1 to connect to your Senators. Dial in again and Press 2 to connect to your Representative.
Example Script

Hi, my name is ______, and I’m calling from [town/city]. 

I’m calling to express my strong opposition to the budget rider that bans the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from researching gun violence. 

With deaths and injuries mounting from gun violence in our schools and communities, we need the federal government to study this problem and offer effective, evidence-based solutions to this crisis.

Putting our public dollars behind this problem is critical – we cannot continue to offer only thoughts and prayers, we must act. 

I urge [Senator X] to remove the anti-science rider that prevents the CDC from conducting research on gun violence from the spending bill. 

Thank you for your time.

IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied

Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the U.S. Guns kill almost 30,000 people and cause 60,000 injuries each year. As a longtime advocate for violence prevention policies, APHA recognizes a comprehensive public health approach to addressing this growing crisis is necessary.

The issue of gun violence is complex and deeply rooted in our culture, which is why we must take a public health approach to ensuring our families and communities are safe. We must place a renewed emphasis on improving gun injury and violence research. Ongoing work is needed to ensure firearms do not fall into the wrong hands and to expand access to mental health services to those who need it most.

If you are interested in a sample op-ed, letter to the editor or technical support to help reach your local media, please contact APHA Media Relations.

Visit APHA’s website to learn more about this issue and how you can take action.

Don’t forget to submit your abstract to APHA’s 2018 Annual Meeting!

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section, Section Announcements

Submit an abstract to present at APHA’s 2018 Annual Meeting and Expo taking place in San Diego from November 10-14.  Deadlines are soon and range from February 19-23. See the list of components here for specific deadlines.

Abstracts related to all areas of public health, especially those that correspond with the Annual Meeting theme “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Health Equity Now,” are welcome! Download and review a PowerPoint with detailed instructions and advice for submitting an abstract.

If you’d like to submit to the International Health component, the deadline to submit is February 23rd. This year we seek a broad range of entries on global health related to the session topics listed below, as well as entries related to the overall meeting theme.

Topics:

  • Advocacy in Global Health
  • Child Survival and Maternal and Child Health
  • Climate Change and Global Health Issues
  • Community Based Primary Health Care
  • Displaced Populations and Refugee Health
  • Emerging and other Infectious Diseases
  • Global Health Financing and Policy-Related Issues
  • Global Health and Human Rights
  • Global Urban Health Issues
  • HIV/AIDS – Global Issues
  • Malaria, Vector-Borne, and Neglected Tropical Diseases
  • Mental Health – Global Issues
  • Monitoring, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement
  • Non-Communicable Diseases – Global Issues
  • Nutrition and Malnutrition
  • Reproductive Health and Family Planning
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Special Panel on Student-led Global Health Projects
  • Strengthening Health Systems In Developing Settings
  • Training, Human Resource Development and Global Workforce Issues
  • Women’s Health

 

2/14 Webinar: WASH and Nutrition Interventions for Child Growth and Development: Results from the WASH-Benefits and SHINE Trials

by ihsection, posted in APHA IH Section

WASH and Nutrition Interventions for Child Growth and Development: Results from the WASH-Benefits and SHINE Trials

February 14, 2018
12:30 pm- 2:30 pm

Organized by the Water and Health GPs, World Bank

WebEx Link
Number: 732 597 473
Password: JhTY6FGQ

Overview:

Enteric infections are known to contribute to poor growth and development in children under two years, and can be reduced with optimal water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).  However, the direct link between WASH and child growth is less understood. The WASH-Benefits and the SHINE Trials, both recently completed, studied the impact of WASH and nutrition interventions delivered alone and in combination to test for synergistic effects on child growth and diarrhea in the first two years of life. These trials used similar study designs, enrolling pregnant women in rural Bangladesh, Kenya, and Zimbabwe and following their children during the first 18-27 months of life.

The results of the trials are very consistent: although the nutrition interventions modestly improved growth, the WASH interventions did not have independent effects on growth, nor did they strengthen the effect of the nutrition intervention when delivered in combination. In contrast to prior studies and the WASH interventions in Bangladesh, the WASH interventions in Kenya and Zimbabwe did not significantly reduce diarrhea.

What does this mean for current and future WASH, nutrition and health programming? Join us for presentations on these findings and a lively discussion on what’s next for WASH and nutrition.

Session Chairs:
Timothy Evans
Senior Director
HNP Global Practice

Guang Zhe Chen
Senior Director
Water Global Practice

Presenters:
Dr. Clair Null
Senior Researcher
Mathematica Policy Research and Co-Principal Investigator of WASH Benefits, Kenya

Dr. Jean H. Humphrey
Professor
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Principal Investigator of SHINE, Zimbabwe

Discussants:
David Evans
Lead Economist
Africa

Meera Shekar
Global Lead, Nutrition
HNP Global Practice

Presenter Bios:
Dr. Clair Null is a Senior Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research and a Research Affiliate at Innovations for Poverty Action. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Jean H. Humphrey, Professor, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Principal Investigator of SHINE, Zimbabwe

Contact information of Organizer
For more information about this event please contact Luke Gates at lgates@worldbank.org