This World Health Day (April 7), as the world grapples with the worst public health emergency in recent memory, over 90 percent of respondents surveyed in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong support a government-led closure of illegal and unregulated wildlife markets, according to new research for World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The recent outbreak of COVID-19…
Diseases passed from animals to humans are on the rise, as the world continues to see unprecedented destruction of wild habitats by human activity. Scientists suggest that degraded habitats may encourage more rapid evolutionary processes and diversification of diseases, as pathogens spread easily to livestock and humans. The World Health Organization reports that an animal…
As climate and commercial threats intensify, WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission presses for radical rethink on child health No single country is adequately protecting children’s health, their environment and their futures, finds a landmark report released today by a Commission of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world. The Commission was convened by…
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a further assessment of microplastics in the environment and their potential impacts on human health, following the release of an analysis of current research related to microplastics in drinking-water. The Organization also calls for a reduction in plastic pollution to benefit the environment and reduce human exposure.…
New report on inequalities in access to water, sanitation and hygiene also reveals more than half of the world does not have access to safe sanitation services. Billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World…
Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement could save about a million lives a year worldwide by 2050 through reductions in air pollution alone. The latest estimates from leading experts also indicate that the value of health gains from climate action would be approximately double the cost of mitigation policies at global level, and the…
Every day around 93% of the world’s children under the age of 15 years (1.8 billion children) breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk. Tragically, many of them die: WHO estimates that in 2016, 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air. A…
The heads of the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Environment and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have launched a new global coalition on health, environment and climate change. One of its overall goals is to reduce the annual 12.6 million deaths caused by environmental risks, and especially air pollution. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN Environment…
Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in many parts of the world. New data from WHO shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Updated estimations reveal an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year caused by ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution. “Air pollution threatens us…
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) have called upon policy-makers in the EU and wider European Region to take decisive action to clean up the air for the benefit of citizens, as improving air quality offers a huge environmental health opportunity in Europe. Indoor and outdoor air pollution continues…