India | Study finds healthcare professionals support climate action, role of health sector crucial

India | Study finds healthcare professionals support climate action, role of health sector crucial

The largest ever survey on climate change conducted among over 3000 healthcare professionals in India, has revealed that the health sector should play a crucial role in action and advocacy on climate change in India. Over 85% respondents believed that the healthcare sector has a responsibility to address climate change and reduce their own carbon footprint. 3062 healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, hospital administrators, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) health staff and healthcare students were surveyed in this study conducted between …

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International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

Calling coal a “lethal product,” the World Federation of Public Health Associations issued a Call to Ban Coal for Electricity Production.

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India | Health care sector rises to the dual challenge of air pollution and climate change

India | Health care sector rises to the dual challenge of air pollution and climate change

Health Care Without Harm’s initiatives on air pollution and climate change have entered a time of dynamic growth around the world, as evidenced by our collaborative work in India. On a recent visit to India, Health Care Without Harm’s global team participated in three key activities organized by our partners that represented significant advances in the work in terms of scale and opportunity – at the central and state government level, with diverse actors in the health sector, and at the local and community level …

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South Africa | groundWork releases report on Just Transition, highlights health vulnerabilities and opportunities

South Africa | groundWork releases report on Just Transition, highlights health vulnerabilities and opportunities

In March Health Care Without Harm’s partner in South Africa, groundWork, together with its Life After Coal partners the Centre for Environmental Rights and EarthLife Africa JHB, launched their 2019 report titled Down to Zero: The politics of just transition.

The Down to Zero report examines the urgent need to respond to climate change, create a truly democratic and participatory order, and share our work and the wealth of the land.

Health is discussed throughout the report, including the range of health risks arising from climate change and air pollution, which …

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India | Report Assesses Health System Response to Kerala Floods of August 2018

India | Report Assesses Health System Response to Kerala Floods of August 2018

The Kerala floods of 2018 offered a unique opportunity to appraise the challenges within the health sector and also redesign the health sector to be an anchor for communities in an event of any extreme climatic event in the future.

Healthy Energy Initiative India and Doctors for You, in collaboration with Climate Action Network South Asia and Community Environmental Monitoring, conducted a preliminary multi stakeholder survey of Health System response to Kerala Floods of August 2018 to consolidate the experiences of health care systems in the state.

Download the report.

The survey particularly assessed …

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US | Health Care Without Harm and ANHE launch Nurses Climate Challenge

US | Health Care Without Harm and ANHE launch Nurses Climate Challenge

Health Care Without Harm, in collaboration with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), launched the Nurses Climate Challenge in conjunction with National Nurses Day and CleanMed.

Nursing is the largest of the health care professions with 4 million registered nurses in the United States with the majority practicing in hospitals, making nurses ideal spokespeople to educate their colleagues on climate and health.

The Nurses Climate Challenge is a nationwide campaign for nurses to educate 5,000 health professionals on the health impacts of climate …

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South Africa | Book Chapter: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa

South Africa | Book Chapter: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa

Rico Euripidou of groundWork, the Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in South Africa, co-authored a chapter on “Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa,” in a recently published book on Climate Change and Air Pollution: The Impact on Human Health in Developed and Developing Countries. Other co-authors include members of the Public Health Association of South Africa’s Climate, Energy and Health (CEH) Special Interest Group.

Abstract: 

Climate change and air pollution pose significant short-term and long-term health risks to South Africans due to the carbon intensity of …

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Australia | Leading Health Experts Launch a Framework for a National Climate and Health Strategy

Australia | Leading Health Experts Launch a Framework for a National Climate and Health Strategy

In a world first initiative, a coalition of leading health experts and organizations, along with federal parliamentarians, launched a Framework for a National Strategy on Climate, Health and Well-being for Australia.

The Framework follows a year-long national consultation to identify stakeholders’ priorities and concerns regarding the health impacts of climate change and entails seven Areas of Policy Action, some of which include phasing out coal, greening hospitals, and a coordinated approach to managing the health consequences of extreme weather events, such as heat stress and thunderstorm …

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US | Health leaders converge with urgency, unity, and even some optimism at Climate and Health Meeting

US | Health leaders converge with urgency, unity, and even some optimism at Climate and Health Meeting

Over 300 health professionals and health scientists around the US and the world united at a landmark Climate and Health Meeting on February 16 to discuss the urgent measures needed to prevent and ameliorate the adverse health impacts of a changing climate.

Originally organized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but abruptly cancelled due to concerns about the Trump administration’s stance on climate action, the meeting was reconvened by Former Vice President Al Gore, the American Public Health Association, and health academic institutions.

A …

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Global | As Paris Agreement takes effect, health care leaders join to turn promise into climate action

Global | As Paris Agreement takes effect, health care leaders join to turn promise into climate action

With the Paris Agreement recently having entered into force, just in time before the start of COP22, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) is mobilizing hospitals and health systems around the world to be leaders in implementing the Paris treaty by fostering green, low carbon, climate resilient health care. With this being the initial step, HCWH is also calling on health systems to be carbon neutral by 2050.

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