Three emerging threats to health: the commercial, digital, and climate determinants of health played centre stage at an event 40 years after a WHO charter shifted the focus of health from individual lifestyle choices to broader social and environmental determinants. Commercial formula company practices are just one case study of how structural factors like marketing […] Continue reading ->
While the health harms of biomass cookstoves, and the smoke they produce inside the homes of developing countries has received significant attention in the past two decades, a wide range of chemical and pathogenic air pollutants create hazards in modern homes and buildings – also threatening health. Investments in ventilation, air filtration, monitoring, and clean […] Continue reading ->
The White House has fired all 24 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the group that advises the National Science Foundation (NSF), in what some observers described as another example of the Trump Administration’s ‘blunt force approach’ to reshaping the nation’s science-based institutions. As of Monday evening, the White House still had not provided […] Continue reading ->
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr offered contradictory responses that the country’s new leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be able to make decisions independent of political interference, especially around vaccines. The White House announced late last week its fourth pick in a year for CDC director, […] Continue reading ->
Less than 0.1% of all philanthropic funding has gone to the fight for clean air. Yet globally, nearly eight million deaths are attributed to the particles and gases that pollute the air – making air pollution the second biggest risk factor for premature death after high blood pressure. “Air pollution is one of the world’s […] Continue reading ->
A joint announcement by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) on microplastics made inaccurate claims about how many plastic particles exist in the brain, while providing an unclear regulatory plan to address this. But a study published in Nature Health found microplastics in nearly every one of its 191 […] Continue reading ->
The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) will soon unveil a new Roadmap on Air Quality and Health, following on from a meeting with countries and other stakeholders in February in Mexico. The PAHO strategy dovetails with an ambitious new regional action plan by the UN Environment Programme – which supports the work of environment ministries. While […] Continue reading ->
Lack of access to clean cooking fuel and technologies has extensive impacts on health, environment, economy, and women’s equality, say experts at the World Bank Group Spring Meeting. WASHINGTON– Nearly a billion people lack access to clean cooking on the African continent. A heavy reliance on charcoal, firewood, and kerosene pollutes homes with toxic particulate […] Continue reading ->
The Trump administration has put forward Luke J Lindberg, the US Department of Agriculture trade and foreign agricultural affairs under secretary, as its pick for executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Lindberg would succeed Cindy McCain, who announced her resignation in October due to health issues. “Throughout his career, Under Secretary […] Continue reading ->
CAIRO, Egypt – In the bustling neighbourhood of Heliopolis in Africa’s most populated city, it’s nearly impossible to cross the streets without risking a 40-mile-per-hour collision. A man driving a motorcycle nestles his phone against his ear. A car whizzes by with a child sitting on the lap of the driver. The chaotic scene was […] Continue reading ->