In 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the report Protecting health from climate change:vulnerability and adaptation assessment. The aim was to provide basic and flexible guidance on conducting national or subnational assessments of current and future vulnerability (the susceptibilit...y of a population or region to harm) to the health risks of climate change, and of policies and programmes that could increase resilience, taking into account the multiple determinants of climate-sensitive health outcomes.
That guidance has been a very useful tool, applied to more than 50 countries and settings, and has helped countries to prepare their health contributions to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change national adaptation plans.
Since the launch of the guidance, WHO, technical partners such as Health Canada, and countries have learned much in terms of its applicability in different countries, at national and local levels.
At the same time, knowledge on climate change and health has increased.
WHO, the Pan American Health Organization and Health Canada have produced this updated version, which aims to better support countries in their assessments by proposing a simpler tool that incorporates
all lessons learned.
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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(23), 8849; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238849
The aim of building climate resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities is: (a) to enhance their capacity to protect and improve the health of their target communities in an unstable... and changing climate; and (b) to empower them to optimize the use of resources and minimize the release of pollutants and waste into the environment. Such health care facilities contribute to high quality of care and accessibility of services and, by helping reduce facility costs, also ensure better affordability. They are an important component of universal health coverage.
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February 2020Earth's Future 8(2):e2019EF001377.The water planetary boundary attempts to provide a global limit to anthropogenic water cycle modifications, but it has been challenging to translate and apply it to the regional and local scales at which water problems and management typically occur. We... develop a cross‐scale approach by which the water planetary boundary could guide sustainable water management and governance at subglobal contexts defined by physical features (e.g., watershed or aquifer), political borders (e.g., city, nation, or group of nations), or commercial entities (e.g., corporation, trade group, or financial institution).
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The authors conduct an integrated survey of Antimicrobial Resistant Organisms (AMR) in drinking water, wastewater and surface water in three settings in Bangladesh: rural households, rural poultry farms, and urban food markets. Results show that untreated water discharged from rural households, poul...try farms and urban markets are major contributors to surface water pollution and antibiotic resistant bacteria genes, calling for increased surveillance and monitoring.
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Constraints, Technologies, Policies and Processes
Transformation and outlook
The Arid and Semi-Arid lands (ASAL) constitute about 80% (467,200 sq. km) of Kenya’s total land mass and is grouped into geographical zones including the Savannah covering most of the North- eastern and South-eastern parts, the Coastal region, the North Rift Valley, the Highlands and the Lake Vict...oria Basin. The ASAL host about 35% of Kenyas population (13 million people) and over 60% of its inhabitants live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than one US dollar per day.
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Kiel Policy Brief, Ukraine Special 1, March 2022.Many African countries heavily rely on imports of agricultural commodities and agricultural inputs from Ukraine and Russia, for example wheat, other grains, and fertilizer. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global access to grains due to re...duced production, exports, and increased trade costs. This policy brief investigates the possible long-term consequences of the conflict on food security in Africa
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Viele der derzeit in Deutschland lebenden Älteren mit Migrationsgeschichte sind im Zielland ihrer Migration unter spezifischen Bedingungen, die mit dem Migrations- und Integrationsprozess einhergehen können, älter geworden. Allerdings ist bislang wenig über diese Gruppe bekannt. Wie wirkt sich d...as biografische Ereignis „Migration“ auf die Lebensqualität, die sozioökonomische Situation und die Gesundheit im Alter aus? Welche Unterschiede gibt es zwischen der älteren Bevölkerung mit und ohne Migrationsgeschichte? Diese Research Note gibt einen Überblick über die einschlägige Forschungsliteratur. Sie beschreibt den Forschungsstand in ausgewählten Lebensbereichen und identifiziert Erkenntnislücken sowie zukünftige Forschungsfragen an der Schnittstelle Migration und Alter(n). Darüber hinaus wird die Lebenssituation älterer Menschen mit Migrationsgeschichte nicht nur dargestellt, sondern auch zugrunde liegende Ursachen für mögliche Unterschiede in den Lebensverhältnissen im Vergleich zu Gleichaltrigen ohne Migrationsgeschichte skizziert.
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We need to be concerned about mental health in the context of climate change
This report presents the types of cluster munitions being used in the international armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022 and the civilian casualties immediately suffered and civilian objects damaged.
Esta quarta edição do manual se baseia no esquema de avaliação de risco apresentado na terceira edição. Uma avaliação completa, baseada em evidências e transparente dos riscos permite que as medidas de segurança sejam equilibradas com o risco real de trabalhar com agentes biológicos, caso... a caso. Isso permitirá que os países implementem políticas e práticas de biossegurança e biosseguridade laboratoriais economicamente viáveis e sustentáveis que sejam relevantes para suas circunstâncias e prioridades individuais.A necessidade de atualizar as diretrizes de biossegurança de laboratórios internacionais faz parte de uma iniciativa mais ampla para globalizar a biossegurança e enfatizar os princípios e as abordagens que são acessíveis a países que tenham ampla gama de recursos financeiros, técnicos e regulatórios. A OMS revisou o Regulamento Sanitário Internacional em 2005 “para ajudar a comunidade internacional a prevenir e a responder aos riscos agudos de saúde pública que tenham o potencial de cruzar fronteiras e ameaçar pessoas em todo o mundo”. Esses regulamentos exigem que todos os 196 estados-membros da OMS estejam bem preparados para surtos em potencial e novas doenças; isso inclui o diagnóstico precoce e a confirmação laboratorial para facilitar a prevenção e o controle de infecções.
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Mass vaccination campaigns to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are occurring in many countries; estimates of vaccine effectiveness are urgently needed
to support decision making. A countrywide mass vaccination campaign with the
use of an inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome c...oronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
vaccine (CoronaVac) was conducted in Chile starting on February 2, 2021.
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This report has been prepared in response to informal requests by SIDS Member States and territories for WHO assistance in confronting the stark and dire situation which climate change has created in their countries and the impact it is having on their peoples
Over the ages, human societies have altered local ecosystems and modified regional climates. Today the human influence has attained a global scale. This reflects the recent rapid increase in population size, energy consumption, intensity of land use, international trade and travel, and other human a...ctivities. These global changes have heightened awareness that the long-term good health of populations depends on the continued stability of biosphere's ecological, physical and socioeconomic systems.
The world's climate system is an integral part of the complex of life-supporting processes. Like other large systems, the global climate system is coming under pressure from human activities.
This book seeks to describe the context and process of global climate change, its actual or likely impacts on health, and how human societies and their governments should respond with particular focus on the health sector.
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