Let’s face it, proximity matters. With his appointment to the National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives 12-member Healthy People advisory committee, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will be as close to national healthcare decision makers and leaders as one can get.

Dr. El-Sayed, the executive director of the Detroit Health Department, was selected for the committee along with 12 other nationally recognized experts in health promotion, disease prevention, epidemiology, health literacy, communication, law, and state and local public health practice.

He is expected to help chart the course for improvements in public health initiatives, says Karen B DeSalvo, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary, who announced his appointment.

Improving healthcare access for everyone and fostering better preventative care are among his stated goals.

Dr. El-Sayed will draw upon his experience and success here at home, says Mayor Mike Duggan.

“We are all very proud of the work Dr. El-Sayed is doing leading our public health efforts in Detroit and it’s a great honor for our city that his work is being recognized nationally,” says Mayor Duggan.  “He will be a great representative of the citizens of Detroit and the field of public health.”

Dr. El-Sayed is an internationally recognized expert in epidemiology, urban health policy, and health inequalities. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, commentaries, book chapters, and abstracts. He is a frequent featured speaker, and his public writings have been published widely, including The New York Times, and The Guardian.

He is the recipient of numerous policy, research, and civic awards, including being named a Policy Innovator by the Carnegie Council and Public Official of the Year by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and was most recently recognized by Crain’s Detroit 40 Under 40.

Since 1979, the Healthy People initiative has set disease prevention and health promotion objectives for the nation. Healthy People establishes specific, science-based, measurable objectives with targets that are used to benchmark and monitor progress over the course of a decade. Healthy People 2030 will be the fifth iteration, charting the course to improve the nation’s health starting in the year 2020 through 2030.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS will lead the development of Healthy People 2030 and host the Advisory Committee’s public meetings. The first meeting took place December 1-2, 2016.

For information about the meetings, including how to register to attend, visit www.healthypeople.gov.

Photo courtesy Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

  Abdul El-Sayed, Detroit Health Department, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Healthy People initiative, National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department Health and Human Services