ISDE Italia News
edited by ISDE Italy (Associazione Medici per l'Ambiente)
Number 319 (29th October 2008)
In this issue………
- “The emerging epidemic of environmental cancers in developing Countries” by P. Vineis and W. Xun.
- The first African Congress on pesticides and toxicology Sciences.
- International Confernece health aspects of indoor and outdoor air pollution.
- 2008 Winter Meeting: “The 'incurable' patient: MCS, EMFS and allied challenges”.
- Sustainable cities and communities Conference.
- Common elements of a mercury framework.
- Media Project for the fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health Italy 2009.
- Children's Environmental Health Indicators (CEHI) Newsletter.
- Letter of appeal: join the WONCA “15 by 2015 Campaign” as a signatory.
- International report from the health behaviour in school-aged children: WHO collaborative cross-national study.
- Global ATLAS of the health workforce.
- EPA announces final report: analyses of the effects of global change on human health and welfare and human systems.
- The Global Health Watch (GHW).
- DDT health effects studies.
- “Responding to the challenge of cancer in Europe” by M.P. Coleman, D.M. Alexe, T. Albreht and M. McKee.
THE EMERGING EPIDEMIC OF ENVIRONMENTAL CANCERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES by P. Vineis and W. Xun, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK.
In overviews concerning environmental cancers, the definition of ‘environmental’ can vary considerably in terms of the list of exposures considered, due to differences in inclusion criteria, and the articles tend to focus mainly or exclusively on Western populations. International agencies such as World Health Organisation, that have had considerable success in fighting infectious diseases, seem to be weaker when considering the relevance of environmental carcinogens, particularly in developing countries, and in identifying the exposed populations. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine the issue with a specific focus on developing countries. There are good reasons to believe that the burden of environmental cancers in such countries is high and has been underestimated in previous analyses. We examine the most common pollutants (aflatoxins, arsenic, air pollutants, biomass fuel and coal, polychlorinated biphenyls and wastes). A systematic review was not possible given the sparse nature of the data, but we suggest that the burden of environmental exposures to carcinogens can be substantial in developing countries.
If
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THE FIRST AFRICAN CONGRESS ON PESTICIDES AND TOXICOLOGY SCIENCES
It’s a conference organized by the African Network for Chemical Analysis of Pesticides (ANCAP) and University of Gezira (U of G) from Saturday 8th to Tuesday 11th November 2008 in the University of Gezira (U of G), Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FAS), Department of Pesticides & Toxicology, Neshishieba, Wad Medani, Gezira State, The Sudan. African economies are heavily dependent on agriculture, in which, even under the most environment friendly approach to pest control (IPM), the use of pesticides is deemed necessary. This is more so because climatic conditions favor the survival of many species including those of pests. But, according to FAO, many pesticides that have been banned or whose use has been severely restricted in industrialized countries are sill marketed and used in developing countries, especially Africa. FAO and WHO warned that ca. 30% of the pesticides marketed (>$300 million) in developing countries, including Africa are poor-quality and do not meet international standards and specifications. These chemicals pose serious risks to health of millions of farmers and the environment. Consequently, many of these countries suffer from weak import controls, poor storage and stock management, and a lack of training in proper pesticide use. Thus, even some products, which can be safely used in developed countries, may be impossible to use safely under developing country conditions. There is, thus, a dire need to study and monitor all aspects of pesticides in Africa, hence, the conference which will, hopefully, be the first in a series of many.
Info:
http://www.ancap.org/
;
bashirnabil@hotmail.com
;
bashirnabil@yahoo.com
INTERNATIONAL CONFERNECE HEALTH ASPECTS OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR AIR POLLUTION
On 12th November 2008 in Luxembourg there will be an international conference on "Health Aspects of Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution". This conference will address new insights on the effects of air pollutants on important health issues such as allergy and asthma or cancer risks, and will cover a range of novel approaches to monitors air pollutants. The programme will include keynote lectures, oral presentations and poster sessions covering recent developments in the field of air pollutants and environmental health aspects.
Info:
http://henvi.lippmann.lu
2008 WINTER MEETING: THE 'INCURABLE' PATIENT: MCS, EMFS AND ALLIED CHALLENGES
The BSEM 2008 Winter Meeting is scheduled for Friday 21 November 2008 at The Royal College of General Practitioners, London. Please note that this is a provisional programme and may be subject to change.
Info:
www.ecomed.org.uk/meet_winter2008.php;
www.ecomed.org.uk/meet_register.php
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE
On 30 September – 1 October 2008 in Geneva (Switzerland) was created greener living for a sustainable future, the inaugural “Sustainable Cities and Communities conference” organised by Green Power Conferences in cooperation with the WWF. It focused on the practical challenger and opportunities cities and communities faced in order to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and congestion. With currently nearly 50% of the world’s population living in cities and as the global majority goes urban, cities and communities face new challenges in terms of mobility and traffic, urban and spatial planning, building regulations, renewable energies and sustainability criteria. This two day high profile business congress brought together key players involved in planning, developing and managing new and existing urban infrastructure. Experts convened to debate how municipal authorities and urban planners can reduce the environmental footprint of their cities, adapt and cut down their exposure to climate change and the associated threats. Case studies and best practice examples were presented on the first eco cities: what they are, what they can achieve, how they can help us in retrofitting existing cities. Attendees learned more about campaigns, regulations and the abundant possibilities for cities and communities to reduce the environmental impact of their actions. They met pioneers and visionary architects, urban planners, mayors, financiers, mobility and traffic experts and sustainability professionals of eco cities.
Info:
http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/renewablesmarkets/sustainable_cities.htm
COMMON ELEMENTS OF A MERCURY FRAMEWORK
Public interest advocates welcomed the results of a global meeting convened to make decisions on the threats posed by mercury to human health and environment. On 6-10 October 2008 in Nairobi (Kenya), the 2nd UNEP Open Ended Working Group (OEWG2) on Mercury agreed on the elements that would form part of a global framework on mercury, in preparation for the UNEP Governing Council (GC) in February 2009, where it will be decided whether a global legally-binding instrument on mercury will be developed.
Info:
http://www.chem.unep.ch/MERCURY/OEWG2/Documents.htm
MEDIA PROJECT FOR THE FIFTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH ITALY 2009
The WHO Regional Office for Europe, with the assistance of World Health Communication Associates (WHCA), plans to develop and support a World Health Youth (WHY) Communication Network on Environment and Health. The key objective is to catalyse the involvement of young journalists from each European country in the Environment and Health process and in so doing develop capacity, enhance quality and quantity of coverage and build sustainable communications across the European Region. To this end we would need your help in identifying dynamic young journalists (18-28 years old) to join this project. Selected journalists will be invited to attend the starting workshop in Madrid 19-21 October 2008 to be held in parallel to an International Public Health Symposium and the Second High-level Preparatory Meeting for the Fifth European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. WHY network journalists will be given exclusive briefings and will be supported with information and contacts for their reporting on Environment and Health in Europe. A competition will be held and selected stories will be included in a new WHO Environment and Health in Europe Book planned for publication at the end of 2009. Winning journalists will receive a WHO Media Award at the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Italy.
Info:
csa@ecr.euro.who.int
CHILDREN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS (CEHI) NEWSLETTER
Source: HECANET June - July 2008.
The CEHI Newsletter has been set up to engage partners
with the Global Initiative on Children's Environmental
Health Indicators (CEHI). To sign up to the newsletter,
to contribute information or to find out more, please
visit the website WHO/Children's environmental health
indicators newsletter (CEHI) or contact:
cehindicators@who.int
LETTER OF APPEAL: JOIN THE WONCA “15 BY 2015 CAMPAIGN” AS A SIGNATORY
Recently we have seen an unprecedented increase in financial support to improve health care in developing countries estimated at 26% between 1997 and 2002, from $6.4 billion to $8.1 billion. While the magnitude of such an investment is a positive development, the vast majority of aid has been allocated towards disease-specific projects (termed ‘vertical programming’) rather than towards more broad-based improvements in population health, such as preventive measures, primary care services, and health workforce development (termed ‘horizontal programming’). There is a need for integration of vertical programmes into local health facilities to achieve sustainable disease control. There is, therefore, a need for a new global strategy to achieve a synergy among person-and community-focused and disease-focused approaches. To this end, WONCA in conjunction with these other organizations has propose that by 2015, 15% of the budgets of vertical disease-oriented programmes be invested in strengthening well-coordinated, integrated local primary healthcare systems and that this percentage would increase over time. Such an investment would improve developing nations’ capacity to address the majority of health problems through a generic, well-structured, comprehensive primary care system. “15 by 2015” is a campaign calling for all major global health donors to allocate 15% of all their grants towards strengthening the primary health care system of the country they are working in.
Info:
http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/index.asp?PageID=7802&ContType=15By2015
INTERNATIONAL REPORT FROM THE HEALTH BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN: WHO COLLABORATIVE CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY
Source: HECANET June - July 2008.
This international report from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) World Health Organization collaborative cross-national study is the most comprehensive to date. The report titled: ‘Inequalities in young People’s Health’ presents the key findings on patterns of health among young people in 41 countries and regions across Europe and North America. The document presents a status report on health, health-related behaviour and the social contexts of young people’s health in 2005/2006 and provides the latest evidence from a unique cross-national study on the well-being of young people in industrialized nations. It is the fourth in a series of international reports from the HBSC study published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in the “Health policy for children and adolescents” (HEPCA) series. In addition to presenting key statistics on young people’s health, this report has a special focus on health inequalities. It presents data on gender, age and geographic and socioeconomic dimensions of health differentials. The aim of the report is to highlight where inequalities exist in aspects of young people’s health and well-being in order to inform and influence policy and practice and to contribute to health improvement for all young people.
Info:
http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/InformationSources/Publications/Catalogue/20080617_1
GLOBAL ATLAS OF THE HEALTH WORKFORCE
There is a growing need for high quality information on human resources in health systems to inform decision making for policies and programmes at the national and international levels. The WHO Department of Human Resources for Health has been collecting and compiling cross-nationally comparable data on health workers in all WHO Member States. Estimates of the stock (absolute numbers) and density (per 1000 population) of the health workforce are available here for 193 Member States. National-level data refer to the active health workforce, that is, all persons currently participating in the health labour market. Counting health workers poses challenges, including how to define them. The World Health Report 2006 defines health workers as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health." Various permutations and combinations of what constitutes the health workforce potentially exist depending of each country's situation and the means of measurement. The information presented here reflects a framework for harmonizing the boundaries and constituency of the health workforce across contexts. Two sets of data are contained in the Global Atlas: a main (aggregated) set and a disaggregated set. In the disaggregated dataset, estimates of the stock of health workers are available for some countries for up to 18 occupational categories, reflecting greater distinction of some categories of workers according to assumed differences in skill level and skill specialization.
Info:
http://www.who.int/globalatlas/
EPA ANNOUNCES FINAL REPORT: ANALYSES OF THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL CHANGE ON HUMAN HEALTH AND WELFARE AND HUMAN SYSTEMS
Source: HECANET June - July 2008.
This Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6 (SAP 4.6) focuses on impacts of global climate change, especially impacts on three broad dimensions of the human condition: human health, human settlements, and human welfare. The SAP 4.6 focuses on impacts of global climate change, especially impacts on three broad dimensions of the human condition: human health, human settlements, and human welfare. It was prepared by a team of experts from academia, government, and the private sector in response to the mandate of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program’s Strategic Plan (2003). The assessment examines potential impacts of climate change on human society, opportunities for adaptation, and associated recommendations for addressing data gaps and near- and long-term research goals.
THE GLOBAL HEALTH WATCH (GHW)
Global Health Watch is a collaboration of leading popular movements and nongovernmental organizations comprising civil society activists, community groups, health workers and academics. It has compiled the second edition of its alternative world health report – a hard-hitting, evidence-based analysis of the political economy of health and health care – as a challenge to major global bodies that influence health. Its monitoring of institutions including the World Bank, the World Health Organization and UNICEF reveals that while some important initiatives are being taken, much more needs to be done to have any hope of meeting the UN’s health related Millennium Development Goals. The GHW2’s content includes: Alternative Paradigm for Development; Health Care Sector (Health systems advocacy, Mental Health: Culture, Language and Power, Access to healthcare for migrants and asylum seekers, Prisoners, Medicines), Beyond health care (Carbon Trading and Climate Change, Terror, war and health, Reflections on Globalization, Trade, Food and Health, Urbanisation, The Sanitation and Water Crisis, Oil Extraction and Health in the Niger Delta, Humanitarian Aid, Education - update), Watching (Global Health Governance, Government Aid, TNC’s) and Pockets of Resistance.
Info:
secretariat@phmovement.org
;
bridget@hst.org.za
DDT HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES
Source: HECANET June - July 2008.
This compilation of articles is updated periodically by the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA). The articles are arranged by category and in chronological order with the newest studies first. For detailed information on the toxicity, health effects and regulatory status of DDT, visit PANNA's on-line Pesticide Database
Info:
http://www.panna.org/ddt/health;
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/
RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE OF CANCER IN EUROPE by M.P. Coleman, D.M. Alexe, T. Albreht and M. McKee.
Europeans today enjoy healthier, wealthier and longer lives than ever, a great achievement of our societies. However, policy-makers are still facing major health challenges, such as widening health gaps between and within Member States, ageing of the population and increasing levels of chronic disease, including cancer. Cancer, this complex group of diseases with serious implications not just for individuals and their families, but also for society in general and health systems in particular, remains an important health challenge in Slovenia, in Europe and world-wide. This book represents an attempt to bring together the latest information and analysis to assist in meeting the challenge of cancer. Some of the most eminent European experts in cancer control have contributed to the book.
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at
isde@ats.it
This newsletter is ISDE Italy's Official Press Organ edited by Roberto Romizi e Silvia Caruso.
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