At the 2016 UN Climate Conference in Marrakesh, a small group of public health professionals from around the world laid out the shocking connections between the more than half a million childhood pneumonia deaths annually and children’s routine exposures to air pollution from both household and outdoor sources. While this was a first, our health-focused […] Continue reading ->
Negotiators at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) must accelerate the end of fossil fuels, eliminate trillions in fossil fuel subsidies, and swiftly transition to clean, renewable energy to reap the health benefits of climate action, senior World Health Organization (WHO) officials urged at a press briefing on Tuesday. Despite the absence of explicit […] Continue reading ->
In the worst week of air pollution in the Indian capital this winter, rural farm fires on average contributed to 25% of urban pollution concentrations. Hundreds of kilometres to the north, Punjab, the main source of the pollution, had missed a government-declared target to halve the number of seasonal crop stubble fires – although progress […] Continue reading ->
A new Health Technology Access Pool (H-TAP), which aims to broaden the scope of IP and patent-sharing with low- and middle-income countries and a new African Union co-sponsored ‘manufacturing support platform’ were among the initiatives announced this week at the Second World Local Production forum in The Hague. The global forum, the second ever to […] Continue reading ->
Within hours, the Delhi government closed schools and announced traffic and construction curbs, but experts are questioning whether the government is tackling the right causes. Meanwhile, a database reporting the contribution of pollution from farm fires has been discontinued by the national government. The air quality forecast remains bleak. Delhi’s air pollution suddenly got a […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN, Germany — Last week, the World Health Summit in Berlin brought together experts, civil society, politicians, and international organizations from around the world to brainstorm solutions to the many threats facing healthcare systems today.  Climate change, the looming health workforce crisis, and the increasingly distant goal of universal health coverage were all on the […] Continue reading ->