Best Public Health Quotes to Inspire, Uplift & Motivate You Every Day

“What I came to appreciate— what I hope to communicate here— is that measles isn't just one more childhood disease. It is the quintessential human pathogen. Measles does more than cause fever and a rash. It teaches us about ourselves— our capacity to learn, remember, and forget. It moves through crowds at astonishing speed. It has shaped and continues to shape our history. We have a vaccine to prevent measles, one that is battle-proven to be able to eliminate the disease from whole countries, even continents. However, what we've accomplished with that vaccine isn't just an example of scientific triumph, as the persistence of measles also provides evidence for our ongoing failures to reckon with poverty, inequity, racism, and the myriad legacies of colonialism.”

“Colonists were grateful for the perceived blessing of massive depopulation of indigenous people by infectious disease. A 1643 publication titled New England First Fruits conveys that message clearly, numbering smallpox first among a long list of divine gifts. In their minds, God cleared a path for their progress, and the chosen implement was contagion.”

“When science is disbanded in the name of policy, public health becomes political theater—and the audience is the world’s children.”