Draft:The Network For Public Health Law

The Network for Public Health Law (NPHL) is an American nonprofit that offers legal support to public health officials across the United States. NPHL launched in September 2010, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a grant making organization that focuses on health care policy. NPHL is funded and supported by various groups, including the Centers for Disease Control's Health Law Program, the American Bar Association, the American Public Health Association, the De Beaumont Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Flint Water Crisis
NPHL is known for its work documenting the Flint Water Crisis. In 2019, they published a report in partnership with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, highlighting the unchecked legal authority on local government, and lack of accountability and preparedness during public health disasters.

Harm Reduction
Through their Harm Reduction Legal Project, NPHL works to address the legal and policy barriers that impede the establishment and expansion of evidence-based harm reduction measures such as naloxone distribution, syringe access programs, and access to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment.

In partnership with researchers from New York University, and the CDC, NPHL released a report that concluded that the controversial Oregon law decriminalizing drugs, Oregon Ballot Measure 110, did not lead to increased drug use or drug overdoses.

Abortion
On June 28, 2023, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, NPHL issued a memo outlining various means through which the federal government could curtail state power to limit access to abortion, including recommending the Biden administration use the Stafford Act and National Emergencies Act to declare the overturning of Roe v. Wade a national public health emergency. They have advocated for abortion rights in various states, highlighting the limited abortion protections explicitly outlined in individual states laws and policies.

COVID-19
In June 2023, NPHL released a report that examined laws and policies being enacted across the U.S. in governance, funding, health equity, infrastructure, workforce, and public health interventions, as related to COVID-19. They have advocated for future pandemic preparedness policies.

Leadership
Vineeta Gupta is the executive director of Network for Public Health Law and oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Advisory Board
NPHL's nine-person advisory board includes public health official, Barbara Ferrer of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Umair Shah of the Washington State Department of Health.