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Network for Public Health Law

Fighting for the Public’s Health: Ideas for Action from an April 2023 National Convening to Strengthen Public Health Advocacy

In September 2022, the Network released Fighting for Public Health: Findings, Opportunities, and Next Steps from a Feasibility Study to Strengthen Public Health Advocacy. The study highlighted six opportunities for addressing gaps in public health advocacy.

Earlier this year, the Network brought together 50 community leaders, advocates, legal experts, and funders from public health and health-related organizations for deeper discussions on four of the six opportunity areas, all designed to reach a vision of creating a robust, equitable, nationwide system of advocacy for the public’s health within the next decade:

  • Develop and advocate for pro-health and community health policies
  • Cultivate friends of public health at all levels and across aisles
  • Strengthen and build state and local-level public health advocacy organizations
  • Train the current and future public health workforce to engage in advocacy

The other opportunities—develop and disseminate messages to equip friends of public health and unlock funding to do this work, along with advancing equity—are considered crosscutting opportunities that are essential to all four.

The report, Ideas for Action from an April 2023 National Convening to Strengthen Public Health Advocacy captures proposed actions and highlights from rich discussions and ideas generated during and after the convening to inspire continued action and commitment from those who attended, while also inviting others inside and outside public health to improve, join, and amplify this work to strengthen advocacy for the public’s health.

Overall, the proposed actions reflect steps considered most equitable, feasible to undertake within two to five years, likely to have an impact—especially at the state and local levels—with the potential to draw additional partners and funding support to these efforts, thus advancing the vision of a robust, equitable, nationwide system of advocacy for the public’s health.

 

The Convening and this report were generously supported both financially and intellectually by the de Beaumont Foundation and the CDC Foundation.

The Network for Public Health Law and Frey Evaluation, LLC are solely responsible for the statements and conclusions in this report.

The Network for Public Health Law
The Network for Public Health Law (Network) believes in the power of public health law and policy to improve lives and make our communities safer, healthier, stronger and more equitable. The Network provides non-partisan legal technical assistance and resources; and collaborates with a broad set of partners across sectors to expand and enhance the use of practical legal and policy solutions.