Media Advisory: Fifth Annual Meeting of the International Association of National Public Institutes (IANPHI)

WHO

• Jeffrey P. Koplan, MD, MPH, president of IANPHI
• Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Kevin M. De Cock, MD, FRCP (UK), DTM&H, director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health
• Leaders from CDC and national public health institutes around the world, such as China, Brazil, Thailand, and Tanzania

WHAT

Fifth Annual Meeting of the International Association of National Public Institutes (IANPHI) (first time hosted in U.S.)

WHEN

Sunday, October 31 – Wednesday, November 3, 2010

WHERE

Emory Conference Center Hotel
1615 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
800-933-6679
http://www.emoryconferencecenter.com/

BACKGROUND

Top public health leaders from almost 50 countries will gather at the fifth annual meeting of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI). The meeting is jointly hosted in the United States for the first time by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and IANPHI, which is based in the Emory University Global Health Institute.

Sessions will include Disaster Preparedness and Response, Risk Factor Surveillance, Injuries, Immunization Policy, and Laboratory Systems. Several of the attendees and speakers represent countries currently in the midst of public health emergencies, including Haiti, Bangladesh, and Nigeria.

Story ideas include:

• Rise from the ashes: Rebuilding of the national public health institute in Guinea-Bissau
• How volunteers helped create a coordinated system of health laboratories in Mozambique
• How Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is reducing deaths from drug-resistant TB
• Mexico in the aftermath of the H1N1 influenza pandemic
• Noncommunicable diseases: newest global challenge threatens health and economies alike

Since IANPHI was launched in 2006 its membership has nearly doubled, and now represents more than 60 percent of the world’s population. Funded through Emory University by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IANPHI is an international advocacy and professional organization for National Public Health Institute (NPHI) directors as well as a major investor in public health infrastructure projects in low-resource countries.

A meeting agenda is attached, as well as a list of participants. For more information about IANPHI, visit http://www.ianphi.org