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Several hundred New Yorkers gathered on the steps of the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building Plaza in the heart of Harlem on Friday, September 16, 2011 to help launch Wellness Week, an event that focused on the variety of ways Harlem partners and coalitions have created positive health programming in the community. The event was one of three high-profile events in which NYAM participated over the weekend, including briefings to the UN General Assembly on September 17 and 18.
The event was sponsored by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce (GHCC), in partnership with The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), the City College of New York (CCNY), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and the World Economic Forum.
Activities included interactive tables that focused on healthy living, a farmers’ market, demonstrations by local restaurants preparing healthy options, a karate demonstration, and a group warm-up session hosted by physical fitness expert Terri Kennedy. NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley presented a proclamation to open Wellness Week on behalf of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
NCD Alliance Holds UN Briefings at NYAM
On Saturday, September 17, more than 200 individuals representing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the globe gathered at NYAM in preparation for the UN General Assembly High Level Meetings on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The two-day event was hosted by the NCD Alliance and included a special keynote panel, “Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases: The New York Experience.”
The panel, moderated by NYAM President Jo Ivey Boufford, included Carlos Santos-Burgoa, MD, MPH, PhD, Senior Advisor on Violence, Injuries and Human Security for the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization; Thomas Farley, MD, MPH, Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Jon Orcutt, Policy Director, New York City Department of Transportation.
On Sunday, September 18, NYAM, in concert with Management Sciences for Health, Eminence, and the International Society for Urban Health, held a briefing for NGOs also participating in the High Level Meetings on NCDs at the UN. The event, “Non-Communicable Diseases in Urban Settings: A call to action in lower and middle income countries,” examined the growing burden of the urban NCD epidemic while presenting a unique opportunity for policy makers, stakeholders, and advocates to assess the evidence base surrounding existing urban NCD interventions.
Speakers included Dr. Ala Alwan, Assistant Director General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health, World Health Organization; Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India and Chair of the Scientific and Policy Initiatives Committee at the World Heart Federation; Dr. AFM Ruhal Haque, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, People’s Republic of Bangladesh; and Dr. Shamim Hayder Talukder, Chief Executive Officer, Eminence. Several dignitaries attended the Sunday event, including Sizakele Khumalo, First Lady of the Republic of South Africa.
Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, NYAM President, said the events were an opportunity to showcase what the world (and New York) is doing to address the deadly effects of NCDs as well as the many steps the city has taken to ensure the good health of all New Yorkers.
“Wellness Week highlights how New York and cities worldwide can support the prevention of non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, pulmonary disease and diabetes by creating environments for healthy eating, physical activity, preventing tobacco use, and harmful alcohol use in settings where people live, work, play and go to school,” Dr. Boufford said. “These changes make the healthy choice the easy choice. These events gave NYAM an opportunity to work side by side with global partners advocating these changes at the United Nations during this week and our local community partners, especially the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce in our own community.”
Read Dr. Farley’s white paper, Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries.
View the video from the Wellness Week launch in Harlem.
View photos below.
NYAM President Jo Ivey Boufford
NYCDOHMH Commissioner Thomas Farley
Congressman Charlie Rangel
Wellness Week Exhibition
Wellness Week, Touro College Students
Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford with South African First Lady Sizakele Khumalo
Jean Claude Mbanya addresses NCD Alliance.
First Lady of South Africa, Sizakele Khumalo views art show at NCD Briefing.
Posted on September 19, 2011
Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org
Reporters: to arrange interviews with NYAM medical and urban health experts, contact
Andrew J. Martin, Director of Communications
212-822-7285 / amartin@nyam.org
The 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture - The Affordable Care Act: An Insider’s View
Featured Speaker: Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
November 19, 2012 - The NYAM Section on Health Care Delivery welcomes Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who will deliver the 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture on "The Affordable Care Act: An Insider's View."
Learn more »
The New York Academy of Medicine with support from the New York State Heath Foundation released a new report, Federal Health Care Reform in New York State: A Population Health Perspective.
This report identifies opportunities that build on both the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) and New York’s ongoing efforts toward improving the health of its 19 million residents.
Read press release
Read report
