Sanitary and water work engineers: Critical partners in public health action

Water management and sanitation have been the major contributors to the success story of Public Health. The history of the APHA shows a long, intense relationship with the engineers of water works and sanitation. However, after the fifties, this relationship declined and with the onset of the EPA, engineers would be able to find funding directly for projects, with little or no direct input from the public health professionals. The current global developments around climate change, food crises, disease burdens and technological and economic globalization, combined with calls for better global governance around these matters creates new opportunities for collaborations between the old partners.

This talk will highlight the historical dynamics in Public Health and hygiene, and will address venues for renewed cooperation in terms of teaching, advocacy and scientific collaboration.