By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
April 11, 2020
TheHill.com
As we adjust to an indefinite period of indoor living due to the COVID-19 crisis, the inconvenience of being unable to do the simple things we once took for granted is already being felt.
For children forced to shelter in place with their sexual abusers, it is a daily nightmare.
By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
December 22, 2019
TheHill.com
Why haven’t we taken any meaningful steps to solve the opioid crisis, one of the greatest public health threats of our time?
Millions of people abuse opioids each year. Their victims cross every socio-economic category. Hundreds of thousands have died. Their impact has been felt for years, yet we have no national collective plan to respond.
To begin to address it, we need a strategic national dialogue, a more effective legal strategy, a willingness by a dysfunctional Congress to come together, and a long-term commitment to do the right thing.
By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
September 26, 2019
TheHill.com
Last week the head of the Association of American Medical Colleges called gun violence a “public health crisis” in America. To address it, Dr. David J. Skorton wrote, “[t]hose of us in the health care field have a central role to play.” His voice adds to the increasing chorus of leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Surgeons, demanding action on the issue.
Yet there is one high-profile figure conspicuously absent from this growing symphony of doctors calling for change: The Surgeon General of the United States.
By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
September 7, 2019
TheHill.com
Earlier this year, the House Appropriations Committee passed a spending bill allocating $50 million to study the impact of gun violence in America. It had nothing to do with expanding background checks, eliminating bump stocks, increasing waiting periods, or revisiting the ban on assault weapons. It was simply intended to give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) each $25 million to study the issue and identify ways to prevent gun deaths in America.
One would think even in today’s deeply divided political environment that Democrats and Republications would agree on funding government research to understand why gun violence is on the rise in America. But the funding set aside in the House bill to conduct it has little chance of gaining any support in the Senate, due a little-known law called the “Dickey Amendment.”
By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
June 17, 2019
TheHill.com
The public health crisis facing migrant children at the southern U.S. border is at a boiling point. Detained kids are sleeping on concrete benches because the government is running out of room, and out of money. Thousands have been sexually abused. And six have died in U.S. custody over the past eight months alone.
An excerpt from my recent op-ed in The Seattle Times:
“The recent legal settlement resolving decades-old child sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America by a Snohomish County man brings to light an important issue that too often is ignored or swept aside. It should be a clarion call to parents in Seattle and around the country, especially now as they start their search to identify summer camps for their kids: Ask the right questions of prospective youth serving organizations ahead of time to protect your child’s safety.”
An excerpt from my recent op-ed in the USA Today:
The abrupt resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen reignited the debate over President Donald Trump’s border policies and his pledge to build a wall. But what continues to be lost in the national conversation on illegal immigration is the crisis involving the abuse of children while in U.S. “care” at the Mexico boundary.
Dr. Haviland recently awarded the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) “its first named and endowed doctoral fellowship.” The Lyndon Haviland Fellowship “will provide one incoming doctoral student the opportunity to develop theoretical knowledge and practical skills in addressing migrant health issues through public health policies and strategies, while learning from and collaborating with Dr. Haviland, an internationally recognized global public health expert and a passionate advocate for refugees, immigrants, and young people. … ” See link below for the full text of the CUNY SPH announcement.
By Dr. Lyndon Haviland
TheHill.com
2/12/19
The Green New Deal is all the rage in Congress, capturing our imaginations about new jobs, new industries and a cleaner energy future for the nation.
But the only way any deal will get done is if lawmakers don’t lose sight of the serious human health consequences of inaction. They must work together, show leadership and pass a realistic plan that may not please everyone, but will put our nation on a constructive path toward addressing the increasing health threat posed by climate change.