2018: A Fast-Paced Year of Advocacy and Education
By AAHP Board of Directors
It’s been nearly a year since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft guidance document that would revoke clearly detailed parameters for manufacturing and distributing homeopathic products. The agency proposed a vague, risk-based approach that could hinder, rather than help us produce safe, effective products for consumers across the United States.
That unexpected turn of events set in motion a fast-paced year of legislative advocacy for AAHP. We spent countless hours communicating on behalf of our members and the industry as a whole.
Despite the uncertainty, we also recognize our industry’s exciting growth—and the need for constant improvement. That’s why at AAHP we’ve done so much to educate our members about manufacturing best practices. We’ve also taken steps to grow our association’s presence, making sure AAHP is a thriving voice for homeopathy in the future.
Below are just a few of our achievements over the past year.
Advocating for Homeopathy on Capitol Hill
In the current environment, we knew we had to double down on our efforts to educate the people who make laws that affect our products. In 2018, we:
- Communicated to FDA our industry’s position that the new draft guidance and its lack of practical guidance might, paradoxically, result in more fraudulent homeopathic products entering the market and also create more work for the agency.
- Started our first ever grassroots campaign that resulted in 38,000 letters urging Congressional lawmakers to ask FDA to provide clarity to their draft guidance.
- Held 61 meetings with House and Senate offices and committee staff, reinforcing our industry’s position on the draft guidance.
- Sent separate House and Senate letters to FDA, signed by 15 members of Congress, urging the agency to revise the draft guidance.
Educating Members and the Industry
During 2018, AAHP put significant time and resources toward educating the homeopathic community, not only about the regulatory landscape, but also about best practices in manufacturing and marketing homeopathic products. We:
- Embarked on a 90-day speaking tour to educate the homeopathic community about FDA guidance implications.
- Offered webinars about plant inspection dos and don’ts, HPUS updates, and recall preparedness.
- Published more than 40 articles, many of which are member protected, that give guidance on overarching interest areas like regulatory affairs, manufacturing practices, starting material insights, and compendia how-tos.
Modernizing and Moving Forward
With our 100th anniversary coming up in 2023, we recognize that, if we are to continue to be a thriving, influential advocate for homeopathy, we have to modernize and keep on innovating. To that end, in 2018 we:
- Rolled out a modern new website, TheAAHP.org.
- Rebranded the association: The Voice of the Homeopathic Community.
- Expanded our social media program, achieving a 165% increase in followers across all platforms.
- Carried out extensive strategic planning to increase momentum leading up to AAHP’s centenary.
Now more than ever, it’s time to gather together around a platform that fights for our industry and helps make it better—and that platform is AAHP. We thank our members for all their support, and we look forward to our work in the year ahead.