On October 11, 2023, Trust for America’s Health hosted an in-person and livestream event recognizing the 20th anniversary of its State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The two-hour event featured White House and federal officials discussing the Biden Administration’s priorities for improving nutrition and health including its National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. In addition, senior federal agency officials discussed a whole-of-government approach to advance transformative policies and programs designed to address increasing rates of diet-related diseases and improve the health of the nation.
Another highlight of the event was a panel featuring community leaders and medical experts discussing effective community level obesity prevention programs and innovative approaches to create sustainable change to promote health.
Four-time track and field Olympian and American record holder Chaunte Lowe closed the program discussing the role that sports can play in promoting health and well-being. Ms. Lowe is a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) will host a Congressional briefing, national webinar on our recently released report, Pain in the Nation 2023: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths.
TFAH’s Pain in the Nation 2023 report found that the death rate due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide increased by 11 percent in 2021. Deaths due to substance misuse and suicide have been rising in the U.S. for over two decades, with numbers doubling from 104,379 deaths in 2011 to 209,225 in 2021. The increase in 2021 death rates occurred among all ages, races, and geographic groups, but TFAH’s report found that increases were particularly high for youth suicides and drug overdoses among certain populations of color and in rural regions of the country.
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Trust for America’s Health
Crisis Text Line
Policymakers are asking: With the United States spending far more on healthcare compared to other high-income nations, why does our nation still yield substantially worse health outcomes and what funding and policy actions must we take to see better results?
To shed light on that important question, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Coalition for Health Funding (CHF) are gathering experts in public health policy and funding on June 20th to discuss the critical need for increased, sustainable, and flexible funding that specifically targets public health and prevention. The discussion will focus on how to address the longstanding gaps in public health capacity resulting from chronic underfunding.
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This briefing explores the findings from TFAH’s recent report, Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.
The past year alone saw the U.S. surpassing 1 million deaths due to COVID-19, decreasing rates of routine vaccinations, and increasing prevalence of health misinformation. In addition, last year the U.S. experienced 10 or more billion-dollar weather-related disasters for the eighth consecutive year. The webinar will review TFAH’s 2023 Ready or Not report which measures states’ degree of preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services.
Subject matter experts discussed the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies, examine the findings of the report, and discuss key recommendations for policymakers.
Resources:
Trust for America’s Health
Children’s National Hospital