scholarly journals 17.D. Workshop: Healthier populations through addressing environmental health topics and the SDGs

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
The World

Abstract The strategic priority of promoting healthier populations with 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being as expressed in the General Programme of Work (GPW) 13 by the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the need of multisectoral action to address the social and environmental determinants of health including climate change. WHO data from 2016 show that approximately one quarter of the global burden of disease are caused by known avoidable environmental risks to health, with at least 12.6 million premature deaths every year. Out of this total, 7 million deaths a year are attributable to both ambient and household air pollution, placing it among the top global preventable health risks. As human influence on the environment continues to grow, global environmental challenges will escalate, including climate change and rapid urbanization. Many of the resulting risks exacerbate disease and injuries, while impacting our quality of life, reducing our productivity, and weighing on our health systems. The global endorsement of the sustainable development agenda with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides a clear signal that the world expects greater cohesion between people and the planet, with benefits for health and health equity. More sustainable ways of functioning go hand in hand with creating healthier and more sustainable environments, with enhanced focus on prevention through action on the root causes of disease. The SDGs set a broad agenda to advance health and equity by 2030. Health is centrally positioned within the SDGs, with SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. However, achieving this goal means more than just improving health care. It involves action in key economic development sectors, like housing and transport, as well as in the settings where people live and work in cities and rural areas. These areas are covered by SDGs such as: Achieving Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Climate action (SDG 13). Progress on these SDGs will not only significantly reduce but also support primary prevention of some of the world's most serious disease threats - including heart and lung diseases, cancers, stroke, injuries, and more. At the workshop different topics and tools that support the achievement of WHOs one billion goal of achieving healthier populations and through this the SDGs will be discussed. Key messages By addressing environmental health risks through progress on SDGs supports also the 1 billion goal to achieve healthier populations. Multisectoral action and turning this action into everyday practice is needed to support achieving the SDGs and the 1 billion goal of WHO.

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development as Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: A Literature Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Lou E. Neri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Keywords Education

The World Health Organization (2003) stated that there is growing evidence that changes in the global climate will have profound effects on the well-being of citizens in countries throughout the world. The “business as usual” frame of mind in dealing with this phenomenon is no longer feasible. Rather, there is a great need for a “sense of urgency” to empower and actively involve every individual to adapt and to mitigate the worsening of climate change. A great number of studies show that the leadership of the educational system in developed countries for more than 2 decades has been successful in promoting environmental sustainability. Some of these studies are reviewed and documented in this paper so that vulnerable countries may learn and benchmark from their experiences. Keywords - Education, sustainable development, climate change

scholarly journals The Impact of Lack of Clean Cooking Fuels on Sustainable Development in Developing Countries

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeoluwa Garba ◽  
Richard Bellingham
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The World ◽  
Cooking Fuels ◽  
The Impact

Access to energy is crucial in tackling many of the current global development challenges that impact on people’s economic, health and social well-being as well as the ability to meet the commitments of reducing carbon emissions through clean energy use. Despite increased attention from multiple governments and agencies, energy poverty remains a serious sustainable development issue in many developing countries. To date, most research have focused on general access to electricity and the generation of clean energy to replace fossil fuels, failing to address the lack of basic access to clean energy for cooking and heating. More people in the world lack access to clean cooking fuels than to electricity. This issue is one aspect of a broader research which investigates the impacts of optimized energy policy and energy business models on sustainable development in developing countries.

scholarly journals ‘We Are Drinking Diseases’: Perception of Water Insecurity and Emotional Distress in Urban Slums in Accra, Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Kangmennaang ◽  
Elijah Bisung ◽  
Susan J. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Global Improvement ◽  
Safe Water ◽  
The World ◽  
Quantitative Results

Water security is critical to the health and well-being of people around the world, especially among populations experiencing water stresses and rapid urbanization in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). Recent research suggests water insecurity is associated with negative mental health outcomes. Despite global improvement in access to safe water across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that access to safe water in urban areas has not changed significantly or has stagnated in certain countries. In most African cities, entrepreneurial water vendors have stepped up to fill supply gaps in the formal delivery system by selling vended water. As part of a larger research program that aims to assess and analyze public perceptions around vended water, this paper explores the links connecting water insecurity and emotional distress among urban slum dwellers who mostly use vended water in Accra, Ghana. We used a parallel mixed-methods approach. Our quantitative results show that water-insecure households (OR = 2.23, p = 0.01) were more likely to report emotional distresses compared to water-secure households. However, households with improved sanitation (OR = 0.28, p = 0.01) and those willing to participate for improved water and sanitation (OR = 0.28, p = 0.01) were less likely to report emotional distress. Our qualitative results offered support for the quantitative results, as participants not only hold various perceptions regarding the safety and quality of vended water but expressed emotional distresses such as fear of contamination, discomfort, worry over arbitrary change in prices, and anxiety. The implications of the results for policy and practice, specifically to ensuring access to safe water, are discussed.

Impact of Rapid Urbanization and Climate Change on Agricultural Productivity in Africa

2016 ◽  
pp. 416-426
Author(s):  
Mutisya Emmanuel ◽  
Lilian Muasa ◽  
Chiahsin Chen ◽  
Florence Mutisya ◽  
Ram Avtar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

Africa continues to experience serious signs of multiple crises in the context of sustainability. These crises include vulnerability to climate change, rapid urbanization, food insecurity, and many others. One crisis, that defines Africa today, is the unprecedented rapid urbanization which continues to pose a big challenge to the diminishing available resources, environmental quality and human well-being. Cities in Africa continue to experience a fast horizontal growth of settlements due to influx of people from rural areas who often settle in the economically lowest segments in urban areas. This horizontal rapid growth has eaten up land set for agriculture around cities and promoted the rapid growth of informal settlements exacerbating the impacts of climate change leading to a negative impact on agricultural production. Policies linking rapid urbanization and climate change with agricultural productivity are need. This paper explores and documents the impact of rapid urbanization on climate change policies and subsequent impact on agriculture in Africa.

Impact of Rapid Urbanization and Climate Change on Agricultural Productivity in Africa

2017 ◽  
pp. 1121-1132
Author(s):  
Mutisya Emmanuel ◽  
Lilian Muasa ◽  
Chiahsin Chen ◽  
Florence Mutisya ◽  
Ram Avtar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

Africa continues to experience serious signs of multiple crises in the context of sustainability. These crises include vulnerability to climate change, rapid urbanization, food insecurity, and many others. One crisis, that defines Africa today, is the unprecedented rapid urbanization which continues to pose a big challenge to the diminishing available resources, environmental quality and human well-being. Cities in Africa continue to experience a fast horizontal growth of settlements due to influx of people from rural areas who often settle in the economically lowest segments in urban areas. This horizontal rapid growth has eaten up land set for agriculture around cities and promoted the rapid growth of informal settlements exacerbating the impacts of climate change leading to a negative impact on agricultural production. Policies linking rapid urbanization and climate change with agricultural productivity are need. This paper explores and documents the impact of rapid urbanization on climate change policies and subsequent impact on agriculture in Africa.

scholarly journals 31.D. Workshop: Sustainable public health: better individual and professional choices

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Good Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Health States ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
The World

Abstract The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for urgent action and global partnership in order to solve the worlds' most complex problems, arguing that we cannot have good health and wellbeing or reduce inequalities without solving the consequences that come with climate change, the necessity of need for quality education and the importance of responsible consumption and production. The public health (PH) arena touches all of these problems. According to the 10 Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO) defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), PH services are meant to deliver health protection, health promotion and disease prevention to populations. In order to do that, these EPHO, and particularly EPHO3, include climate change, green health services and sustainable development as important issues to take into account when identifying current and future weaknesses in health services and PH interventions, and inform the development of new policies, programs or projects to address them. This workshop aims to provide useful insight on the current climate change situation and its impact on the populations' health across the globe; the importance of the contribution of PH in the creation of green health services; what we can do on an individual level to contribute to the achievement of the SDG; and how PH policies, programs and projects can contribute to EPHO3 and the achievement of better and sustainable population health states. This workshop provides up-to-date knowledge on what is happening in the world regarding sustainability, green health services and climate change's health impacts, which practical measures every PH professional can implement in their daily lives to improve their individual carbon footprint and contribute to the achievement of the SDG, as well as examples of actual PH policies, programs and projects that are evidence-based and which health professionals can apply to their work in order to be more sustainable and contribute to the achievement of EPHO3. The workshop has a 'regular workshop' format with 90 minutes total. It is separated into 3 parts, each with a different speaker (15 minutes each, with a regular presentation type format): What is happening? World overview (Teresa Garcia)What can everyone do about it? The science behind creating a habit and sustainable individual choices that contribute to the SDG (Raquel Vareda)What can Public Health do about it? Relevant PH policies, programs and projects that are evidence-based and contribute to better PH and sustainable health systems (Juan Rachadell) Between presentations there will be a 5-minute break for Q&A. In the last 30 minutes, the participants will work in small groups to discuss PH projects in which they're currently/have been involved, and they'll be asked to choose or imagine a project and present a more sustainable way of creating and applying it. All projects will be shared and commented on by every group and by the trainers of the workshop. Key messages As an individual, you will learn practical actions that you can take in order to contribute to EPHO3 and the SDGs. As a PH professional, you will learn which projects, programs and policies are currently aiming for a more sustainable world.

scholarly journals Biomonitoring of Air Pollution

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Simonetta Giordano ◽  
Valeria Spagnuolo ◽  
Fiore Capozzi
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
World Health ◽  
Environmental Health Risks ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization reported that air pollution in 2012 caused the death of about 7 million people worldwide (WHO, 2014), confirming air pollution as one of the principal environmental health risks in the world, and indicating its reduction as an urgent mission to save millions of lives [...]

Policy Review: Dubai Health Authority’s COVID-19 Rapid Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (Special) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Rapid Response ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
World Health ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
First Case ◽  
The World

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is the entity regulating the healthcare sector in the Emirate of Dubai, ensuring high quality and safe healthcare services delivery to the population. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020, indicating to the world that further infection spread is very likely, and alerting countries that they should be ready for possible widespread community transmission. The first case of COVID-19 in the United Arab Emirates was confirmed on 29th of January 2020; since then, the number of cases has continued to grow exponentially. As of 8th of July 2020 (end of the day), 53,045 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed with a death toll of 327 cases. The UAE has conducted over 3,720,000 COVID-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents over the past four months, in line with the government’s plans to strengthen virus screening to contain the spread of COVID-19. There were vital UAE policies, laws, regulations, and decrees that have been announced for immediate implementation to limit the spread of COVID- 19, to prevent panic and to ensure the overall food, nutrition, and well-being are provided. The UAE is amongst the World’s Top 10 for COVID-19 Treatment Efficiency and in the World’s Top 20 for the implementation of COVID-19 Safety measures. The UAE’s mission is to work towards resuming life after COVID-19 and enter into the recovery phases. This policy research paper will discuss the Dubai Health Authority’s rapid response initiatives towards combating the control and spread of COVID-19 and future policy implications and recommendations. The underlying factors and policy options will be discussed in terms of governance, finance, and delivery.

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