“Public health professionals provide essential programs, services and guidance that keep us and our loved ones safe. Through actions such as disease and injury prevention, health promotion and health protection, our public health professionals empower people to live healthy lives.”
-Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. Read the full statement here.
British Columbia announced a deal with the federal government as part of the National School Food Program. The deal was announced on March 7th, 2025. British Columbia will receive approximately $39 million over 3 years, further enhancing school food programs in British Columbia.
The Public Health Association of British Columbia (PHABC) has served as the secretariat for the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food for the past five years. PHABC is encouraged by this commitment on behalf of the federal and provincial government’s dedication to support school meal programs.
Every aspect of childhood development is impacted by the food they eat and the environment in which they’re supported. This announcement demonstrates a meaningful shift forward for children in the province.
Thank you to our federal and provincial governments for their incredible leadership on this significant public health strategy.
British Columbia now joins Northwest Territories, Quebec, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman was a virologist who developed more than half of the vaccines that young children receive today. His work, credited with saving 8 million lives every year, was cutting edge. Even though not everyone will be a scientist like Dr. Hilleman, everyone should understand how science works because the resulting discoveries and advancements shape daily life. To celebrate Dr. Hilleman’s legacy, students in grades 6 to 12* from the U.S. & Canada have an opportunity to learn about Dr. Hilleman and reflect on a particular scientific advancement, its role in daily life and how it demonstrates the importance of all citizens understanding what science enables us to do and how.
Visit these pages to find helpful essay contest-related resources:
The Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest is a program of the Vaccine Makers Project (VMP), presented by the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC). The VMP provides free school-based materials about the immune system, diseases, vaccines, STEM careers, and evaluating information.
Thank you to the co-sponsors of the 2025 Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest:
Find information about our co-sponsors on their websites:
Public Health Association of BC
Kids Boost Immunity
Society for Intelligence Management
National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT)
We would also like to thank Mrs. Lorraine Hilleman for her ongoing support and participation in the contest.
Students in grades 6 to 12* living in the United States (including District of Columbia and U.S. Territories) or Canada and enrolled in a public, private, cyber, religious or charter school or who attend a home school program can participate. First and second place will be awarded in the high school and middle school categories in each country.
*Grades 6 to 11 in Quebec
Learn about Dr. Hilleman, and write a 500- to 1,000-word essay that responds to this prompt: “Not everyone will be a prolific scientist like Dr. Hilleman, but all citizens need to understand how science works. Use an example to discuss why this understanding is important given the role of science and technology in society today.” Essay should be written in English for U.S. submissions and English or French for Canadian submissions using complete sentences and appropriate grammar. One entry per person. See “Official Rules” for complete details.
Cash prize: 1st place US$500; 2nd place US$250
Winner certificate
Recognition at a virtual award event in May, 2025
Event will be hosted by Dr. Paul Offit – VEC director, vaccine inventor and Hilleman biographer. The event will also include special guests and student winners reading their essays.
Completed entries must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, February 6, 2025, or postmarked by February 6 if mailed. Submissions that are incomplete, do not address the prompt, do not follow the contest rules, or are not received by this time will not be considered.
Click on your country of residence to find out more and enter.
Loading...
PHABC is thrilled to premiere our podcast, “Public Health Journeys” on November 18th and 19th! Only conference attendees will have access to the podcast before we officially launch in 2025!
Join Dr. Shannon Turner, PHABC’s Executive Director, as she converses with high-profile public health legacies on “Public Health Journeys”! The first three episodes will feature:
The podcast premiere is exclusive to conference attendees. Register now to gain VIP access at the conference on November 18th and 19th!
PHABC is pleased to share the final program for our upcoming conference, “Commercial Determinants of Health: Moving from Harmful to Healthy.”
Download the program now to view our incredible line of speakers, presentation topics, workshops, posters and exhibitions.
Our commercial determinants of health (CDoH) niche themes include: digital democracy; food systems transformation; the responsibility of education within the public health sector; and more.
Our renowned list of speakers include:
For the full list of featured speakers, see the PHABC website.
We can’t wait for you to join us on November 18th and 19th to explore CDoH!
Dates: November 21st and 22nd
Venue: Sutton Place Hotel
Address: 845 Burrard Street, Vancouver
All non-members purchasing two-day registration will receive a free one-year PHABC membership.
The Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) is thrilled to announce the theme of our 2024 conference, “Commercial Determinants of Health: Moving from Harmful to Healthy.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we are the first public health association in the world to host a conference on the commercial determinants of health!
We are working with WHO and the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health, and other notable partners to bring you an excellent, innovative and educational conference.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab