APHA supports CDC climate change work.

If communities are to effectively prepare for the health effects of climate change, then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be able to help lead the way, APHA said in an April letter to Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

Initiated by the Environmental Defense Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council, the letter offered support for a request made by Rep. Frank Pallone, DN. J., to budget $50 million for CDC work to help the public prepare for and adapt to climate change. The funds would be added to the fiscal year 2010 labor, health and human services, and education appropriations bill, which as of early May was still being drafted. Specifically, the letter calls on policymakers to provide such funds to establish a CDC research coordinating center on climate change and health, help create an Interagency Task Force on Climate Change and Health, support state and local preparedness efforts, and establish academic research centers of excellence.

"The effects of climate change will be felt in communities across all 50 states, and it is essential that our public health system be up to the challenge of protecting people from the effects of heat waves, wildfires, floods, droughts, infectious diseases and other health-related impacts of climate change," the letter stated. "An appropriation in this budget could allow the nation to save hundreds of millions of dollars in the future by preventing illnesses and deaths."