Environment, Climate Change & Health Archives - WISH

Healthcare waste management: Moving towards sustainability

wish admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 12:14:28 +0000

Waste generation is inevitable in any industry, and healthcare is no exception. While much of the waste produced by healthcare can be considered non-hazardous, managing healthcare waste is both a public health and environmental concern. There have been substantial strides taken in the international policy landscape concerning waste management over the last few decades. In parallel, national governments have developed their laws, regulations and practice. In this report we provide an overview that describes current thinking on appropriate healthcare waste management. In addition, the report reflects on the importance of a circular economy, which will be key in healthcare becoming truly sustainable. We also reflect on Qatar’s development and current practice as the country and its health system has undergone an extraordinary transformation over the last few decades.

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Food security and health in a changing environment

wish admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 11:33:05 +0000

Climate change, caused by ever escalating greenhouse gas emissions, poses a direct threat to human health and survival through exposure to more frequent and severe weather events such as the extremes of heat seen in Europe and Asia in the summer of 2022 and the continued drought in East Africa. Less well appreciated and understood are the hazards caused by other human activity-driven environmental changes, such as biodiversity loss, and how these interact with climate change in an interconnected globalized world to create cascading and systemic risks to people and health systems. Ecological disruption caused by climate change makes global pandemics more likely,1 and both extreme weather and human disease affect food security. Climate change makes conflicts more likely,2 which itself threaten food supplies (as the recent war in Ukraine makes clear). How such combinations interact to threaten global food supplies is the focus of this report.

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Tracking infectious diseases in a warming world

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:51:42 +0000

Using infectious diseases sensitive to climate as indicators of climate change helps stimulate and inform public health responses

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Protecting health in dry cities: considerations for policy makers

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:50:18 +0000

Increasing health and wellbeing in cities that experience water scarcity presents challenges, but can be done.

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Strengthening the global response to climate change and infectious disease threats

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:49:12 +0000

Climate change is emerging as an important driver of disease incidence, and a wait and see approach invites unnecessary risk

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Emerging arboviruses in the urbanized Amazon rainforest

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:43:33 +0000

Degradation of rainforest, extreme weather events, and climate change affect the spread of mosquito borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika.

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Ecosystem perspectives are needed to manage zoonotic risks in a changing climate

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:42:27 +0000

Better understanding of how environmental changes affect pathogens, hosts, and disease vectors can help prevent and respond to zoonoses.

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City design for health and resilience in hot and dry climates

wish admin — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 06:41:13 +0000

Cities in regions including the Middle East can use a variety of approaches to promote wellbeing among the people who live and work there despite dryness and heat.

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Protecting Health in Dry Cities: From Evidence to Action

wish admin — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 12:29:53 +0000

This report highlights the pressing health challenges that emerge from Dry Cities and presents a set of tangible actions for policy makers to contain it.

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Health in the Climate Crisis: A guide for Health Leaders

wish admin — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 12:22:04 +0000

This report aims to provide a guide to health leaders into deliberate effective action against health crises in the midst of climate dangers.

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