Mission and Background - Trust for America's Health

Preventing Epidemics. Protecting People.

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.

From anthrax to asthma, from chemical terrorism to cancer, America is facing a crisis of epidemics.

As a nation, we are stuck in a "disease du jour" mentality, which means we lose sight of the bigger picture: building a public health defense that is strong enough to cover us from all points of attack – whether the threats are from a bioterrorist or Mother Nature.

By focusing on PREVENTION, PROTECTION, and COMMUNITIES, TFAH is leading the fight to make disease prevention a national priority, from Capitol Hill to Main Street. We know what works. Now we need to build the resolve to get it done.

TFAH Priorities.

Prevention: A Vital Prescription

More than 90 million Americans live with chronic disease, which accounts for seven out of ten deaths in this country. Amazingly, the majority of these deaths are preventable, yet America continues to accept that people will inevitably become sick. Rather than concentrating primarily on treatment, we need to prevent illnesses in the first place, particularly for those most at risk. TFAH believes that preventing disease and stopping epidemics everyday requires a strong, effective, and responsive public health system.

Protection: Accountability and Action

It is important to hold officials accountable for their performance on public health issues and activities. TFAH provides real leadership to ensure that systems are constantly being evaluated, assessed, and enhanced. By motivating officials to improve and by advocating for increased resources and support for public health, TFAH is the non-profit, independent voice advocating to improve our lives, our communities, and our health.

Community: Improving the Health of Every American

Improving people's health begins with strong, well-prepared communities, and we will not succeed until we can move people from apathy to alarm and from alarm into action. TFAH conducts science-based research, issues meaningful reports that spark change, shares best practices, and demands that our public health system works to fight current and emerging health threats of all kinds. Only then will we practically and effectively improve and modernize our public health system every day, everywhere, for everyone.

Trust for America's Health receives generous support from a number of foundations and from individual champions for improved public health. For a complete listing please see our annual reports. TFAH is founded by the Benjamin Spencer Fund in loving memory of Benjamin, whose compassion for others continues to guide and inspire us.

About the Trust