The Society for Medical Anthropological’s Responses to Health Emergencies Special Interest Group was one of this year’s recipients of the American Anthropological Association Presidents’ Award for the group’s extraordinary service. Dr. Deon Claiborne, Undergraduate Academic Advisor for the Department of Anthropology, is the co-chair of this group with Dr. Kristin Hedges of Grand Valley State University. The Anthropological Responses to Health Emergencies Special Interest Group was “recognized for rapidly mobilizing a wide range of valuable information resources in response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, including a series of highly informative webinars, online background information resources, and an expanded roster of content area specialists ready to share their insights with response partner organizations and affected communities.”
The Anthropological Responses to Health Emergencies (ARHE) is a Special Interest Group of the Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA). The purpose of the group is to network among members to be able to rapidly respond to developing public health issues and emergencies. The overall mission of ARHE is to engage and collaborate with colleagues working in the field of public health and infectious disease in emergency and humanitarian contexts. To learn more about the ARHE and access the group’s resources, visit their website: http://arhe.medanthro.net/