On Universal Health Coverage Day – an appeal to food and health advocates to shape an agenda for ‘Universal Nutrition Coverage’ including joined-up solutions that promote sustainable agro-ecosystems producing healthier foods for people with co-benefits for the planet. Every year on December 12, the health community marks Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day. While the technical […] Continue reading ->
While China and India’s last-minute refusal to commit to an end to fossil fuel at COP26 has caused depression and despair amongst many developing country delegates and climate activists, the mental health of millions is already severely affected by what climate disasters have done to their lives. Humidity and heatwaves are linked to increased suicides, […] Continue reading ->
As the Glasgow Climate Conference winds to a close, the final COP26 declaration appears destined to contain watered-down language on fossil fuel phase-out, and no clear way forward for the $100 billion in finance needed by low-income countries. Against that landscape, Médecins Sans Frontières Dr Maria Guevara talks about why health is the elephant in […] Continue reading ->
Former US President Barack Obama openly criticized two of the world’s largest CO2 emitting countries – Russia and China, for their “dangerous lack of urgency” in discussing the pressing matters of climate change this past week during COP26. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to make an appearance with other […] Continue reading ->
GLASGOW – Nearly two dozen African countries, including some of the continent’s biggest methane- producing nations, have now signed The Global Methane Pledge, launched Tuesday at COP26 by United States President Joe Biden and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.  While the pledge was initially announced in September with nine countries […] Continue reading ->
Greening cities, investing in urban bike lanes rather than new roads, and making plant-based foods cheaper and easier to access than ultra-processed foods. This is a doctor’s prescription for a healthier planet.  As climate negotiators at Glasgow’s COP26 conference remain locked in debate over the big-picture ambition of targets for global CO2 emissions reductions, and […] Continue reading ->
Disha Shetty, an Indian climate and health journalist, will be reporting for Health Policy Watch from the Glasgow Climate Conference (COP 26).  She provides a birds-eye view on the conference here: Climate and health activists fear that the bold action needed at the crucial United Nations climate conference, COP26, which began on Sunday, is unlikely […] Continue reading ->
The latest climate commitments from 165 of the 192 countries that are signatories to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement would still lead to a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century, according to an updated United Nations analysis of climate commitments and their impacts. Major emitters including China and India, remain […] Continue reading ->