Donald Trump has named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his choice for US health secretary, putting the controversial anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer in line to control some of the world’s most influential health agencies. Kennedy shot to political prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his organisation, Children’s Health Defense, became a leading global voice […] Continue reading ->
As 40,000 delegates’ flights streamed into Baku’s Heydar Aliyev airport over the weekend, battle lines were drawn on the opening day of COP29 in the Azerbaijani capital as developing countries demanded wealthy nations commit trillions of dollars to combat the climate crisis. The high-stakes climate mega-conference launched on Monday, just weeks after its less prominent […] Continue reading ->
Two million lives could be saved annually through urgent climate action, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Thursday in a stark message to negotiators ahead of next week’s climate summit in Baku, warning that rising temperatures are wreaking havoc on global health, disrupting healthcare systems and fueling disease outbreaks worldwide. The new WHO report, […] Continue reading ->
Africa has the highest rate of suicide in the world, and the lowest per capita spending on mental health – with critical shortages, in particular, of community health workers and facilities that could help prevent many mental health conditions from becoming even more severe.  Two recent high-profile suicides in Tanzania have cast a stark spotlight […] Continue reading ->
New research suggests long-term exposure to wildfire smoke may significantly increase dementia risk, posing a greater threat to brain health than other forms of air pollution. The study, presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, examined a decade of electronic medical records for 1.2 million older adults in Southern California from 2009 to […] Continue reading ->
Human skin can absorb ‘forever chemicals’, University of Birmingham researchers discovered, revealing a new pathway for these toxic substances to enter the body. The finding amplifies health concerns as researchers increasingly detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in people worldwide. PFAS are man-made chemicals that persist in nature and human bodies for a millennium before […] Continue reading ->