The Role of Government in Public Health. Cherrelle Warren Trident University Public health is a primary government responsibility and in this regard a number of local, national and government agencies work in tandem to protect the US population’s health. These agencies are committed to the prevention of diseases as well as to promote health education across the various segments of society. There are a number of areas which are under the scrutiny of the public health agencies and which regularly monitor these areas. Disease prevention is one such area and at the national level it is the CDC or the Centre for Disease Control that plays the leadership role in terms of promoting good health for the US population. Apart from controlling the spread of infections and diseases, there are other important roles as well which the national agency plays. It also develops programs to be implemented at the national level to protect the health of the common population and to make it aware. It conducts research as well as develops educational programs that can help the population by making it aware and by educating it regarding preventive methods. HIV prevention is a key area where the organization is focussing upon in the 21st century. According to the CDC website, “Guided by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States, CDC provides national leadership and support for the implementation of a high-impact prevention approach to reducing new HIV infections by using combinations of scientifically proven, cost-effective, and scalable interventions and prevention strategies directed towards the most vulnerable populations in the US who are most affected by, or at greatest risk for, HIV infection” (CDC, 2014). Being in the leadership position CDC partners with the community, local, and national as well international agencies to educate and empower people in order to prevent the spread of HIV. The activities undertaken by the CDC as well as the state and local departments in tandem are critical as according to the CDC estimates there are around 12 million Americans living with HIV in US. At the local level are the local health agencies like the county health departments which help at the implementation of the programs initiated by the CDC. However, before the county level public health agencies, it is the state level public health agencies that act to implement the programs across the state. These three levels act in collaboration to produce the expected results and have a very important role to play with regard to protection of public health. Most important are the educational and awareness programs undertaken by the state health departments. CDC is a Federal level agency that works in many crucial areas primary among them being disease prevention and control. These three levels act like a network and help at managing the nation’s health. A large number of people in US are affected by HIV and the CDC has undertaken a program to prevent the ...

1. The Role of Government in Public Health.
Cherrelle Warren
Trident University
Public health is a primary government responsibility and in this
regard a number of local, national and government agencies
work in tandem to protect the US population’s health. These
agencies are committed to the prevention of diseases as well as
to promote health education across the various segments of
society. There are a number of areas which are under the
scrutiny of the public health agencies and which regularly
monitor these areas. Disease prevention is one such area and at
the national level it is the CDC or the Centre for Disease
Control that plays the leadership role in terms of promoting
good health for the US population. Apart from controlling the
spread of infections and diseases, there are other important

2. roles as well which the national agency plays. It also develops
programs to be implemented at the national level to protect the
health of the common population and to make it aware. It
conducts research as well as develops educational programs that
can help the population by making it aware and by educating it
regarding preventive methods.
HIV prevention is a key area where the organization is
focussing upon in the 21st century. According to the CDC
website, “Guided by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the
United States, CDC provides national leadership and support for
the implementation of a high-impact prevention approach to
reducing new HIV infections by using combinations of
scientifically proven, cost-effective, and scalable interventions
and prevention strategies directed towards the most vulnerable
populations in the US who are most affected by, or at greatest
risk for, HIV infection” (CDC, 2014). Being in the leadership
position CDC partners with the community, local, and national
as well international agencies to educate and empower people in
order to prevent the spread of HIV. The activities undertaken by
the CDC as well as the state and local departments in tandem
are critical as according to the CDC estimates there are around
12 million Americans living with HIV in US.
At the local level are the local health agencies like the county
health departments which help at the implementation of the
programs initiated by the CDC. However, before the county
level public health agencies, it is the state level public health
agencies that act to implement the programs across the state.
These three levels act in collaboration to produce the expected
results and have a very important role to play with regard to
protection of public health. Most important are the educational
and awareness programs undertaken by the state health
departments. CDC is a Federal level agency that works in many
crucial areas primary among them being disease prevention and
control. These three levels act like a network and help at
managing the nation’s health. A large number of people in US
are affected by HIV and the CDC has undertaken a program to

3. prevent the further spread of the disease by minimizing the
menace through collaboration at all the levels of the
government.
Different levels of government function by cooperation and
coordination of some of the functions that exist at both levels of
government; the levels in question here are the state and federal
government. The local governments in any area subscribe to the
state government because they exist because of state approval.
They are based on what the state dictates for them. Each
government level has a specific responsibility to create a
situation where there is health for the people in the best
possible way. The national or federal government plays the
responsibility of formulating a general policy for states to apply
in their health plans because public health is largely a state and
local government function (Center for Disease Control, 2013).
One example is where the government has formulated a policy
on Affordable Care through which states have ratified the ACA
in their respective jurisdictions to allow for proper health care.
States at times receive federal funding for bail outs after
approval by congress in cases where there is an extreme need.
The national government provides a blueprint for the states to
follow; the blue print is how the arms of government work
together to ensure public health works well. The legislature
formulates policies and laws that the judiciary interprets and
settles lawsuits on. The executive is tasked with the
responsibility of enforcing such laws to the latter as dictated by
the doctrine of separation of powers between the three levels of
government. The states replicate this set up within their
jurisdictions. The state and local governments monitor the
extent to which the burden of injury and disease in the
population has gone using a particular surveillance system
(Center for Disease Control, 2013). The two levels go a step
further by identifying the individuals and groups of people with
public health conditions through testing, notification of partners
and reporting.

4. References:
CDC HIV Related Programs (2014). In CDC. Retrieved
November 24, 2015, from
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prevention/programs/index.html
Center for Disease Control. (2013). United States Public Health.
Retrieved , from
Center for Disease Control:
https://www.cdc.gov/stltpublichealth/docs/usph101.pdf