India | Health assessments mandatory for new thermal plants

The inclusion by the Union environment ministry of mandatory baseline health assessments and periodic health monitoring as a standard condition for all Environmental Clearances for Thermal Power Plants is a welcome first step, according to Healthy Energy Initiative, a coalition of health sector professionals, environmental groups and community organisations advocating for health-based choice of energy sources.

Health — the most important criteria of well-being — has been noticeably absent from EIA processes in India. The inclusion of health assessments is an indication that the concept of …

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Philippines | Health Department & Frontline Communities Gather to Discuss Revival of Health Impact Assessment

Philippines | Health Department & Frontline Communities Gather to Discuss Revival of Health Impact Assessment

Frontline communities from various mining, coal and waste districts in the Philippines gathered last Friday to meet with Department of Health (DOH) in an aim to revive the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in light of the influx of environmentally-critical projects in the country.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), HIA is a means for determining the potential and lived health impacts of (1) public policies and (2) development projects in a wide array of sectors. It uses qualitative, quantitative and/or participatory techniques that can provide evidence-based …

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South Africa | Death and destruction: What’s left out of energy planning

South Africa | Death and destruction: What’s left out of energy planning

The South African Department of Energy’s released Integrated Resource Plan does not seriously factor in the pollution impact of its current and planned energy mix and appears to have distorted the data to favour coal and nuclear, writes David Hallowes, researcher for groundWork (Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in South Africa):

Pollution from Eskom’s [coal-fired] power plants result in 2,240 attributable deaths each year. And every day, some 11,000 people are physically restricted in what they can do while 2,700 lose the day’s work. The economic impact is …

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Turkey | Medical award given to HEAL for fighting coal in Bursa

Turkey | Medical award given to HEAL for fighting coal in Bursa

At a ceremony on National Doctor’s Day for Turkey, the Bursa Chamber of Medicine awarded its 2017 Environment Prize to the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the Healthy Energy Initiative’s European partner. The Bursa Chamber of Medicine is the official local branch of the Turkish Medical Association, which has 83,000 members.

The award was given to HEAL in Turkey in recognition of its contribution to resisting the planned DOSAB coal power plant with a 49.9 MW capacity in Bursa, an important industrial centre in western Turkey with …

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China | Workshop summary: Toward a Sustainable and Healthy Energy System

China | Workshop summary: Toward a Sustainable and Healthy Energy System

REEI Energy System Transformation Workshop 2016:
Toward a Sustainable and Healthy Energy System

Workshop Summary

Beijing — On October 20-21, 2016, experts in the fields of energy, environment, and public health held a two-day discussion about the best way to reach a transformation from fossil fuels to a sustainable and low carbon energy system in China.

Organized by Rock Environment and Energy Institute (REEI), the Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in China, the workshop focused on the use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and other policy impact assessment tools to analyze, …

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India | Environmental health expert visits coal plants to jumpstart research

India | Environmental health expert visits coal plants to jumpstart research

From September 12 to 23, 2016, Dr. Peter Orris, Professor and Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System and scientific adviser to Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), visited several coal plant communities that will undergo an environmental health impact assessment as part of HCWH’s Healthy Energy Initiative work in India.

Facilitated by Community Environmental Monitors (CEM), our Healthy Energy Initiative partner in India, Dr. Orris’s visit also included lectures and workshops delivered in several academic and research …

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Philippines | Video: Towards Making Healthy Energy Choices

Philippines | Video: Towards Making Healthy Energy Choices

What is Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and why is it important in energy policies and projects?

In celebration of this year’s World Environment Day, Health Care Without Harm–Asia presents this informative and insightful video — featuring experts and participants from the Healthy Energy Initiative workshop in March 2016 — discussing why governments, organizations, and corporate institutions should consider HIAs as vital components of planning and implementing energy policies and projects that may have major impacts on people’s health.

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Philippines | Strong institutions, policies, professionals needed to mainstream Health Impact Assessments

Philippines | Strong institutions, policies, professionals needed to mainstream Health Impact Assessments

This post was originally published by HCWH-Asia.

On March 9, 2016, as part of the workshop organized by Health Care Without Harm-Asia entitled “Towards Healthy Energy Choices in the Philippines: Promoting the Use of Health Impact Assessments (HIA) for Energy Policies and Projects,” representatives from various stakeholder organizations engaged in a dynamic discussion about the future of HIA in the Philippines.

From L to R: Dr. Renzo Guinto (Healthy Energy Initiative); Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho (Asian Development Bank); Engr. Regina Paula Eugenio (Department of Environment and Natural Resources); Engr. Bonifacio …

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Philippines | Call for Applications for Health Impact Assessment Workshop

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Towards Healthy Energy Choices in the Philippines: 
Promoting the Use of Health Impact Assessments for Energy Policies and Projects

March 7-9 (Manila, Philippines)

The Healthy Energy Initiative of Health Care Without Harm-Asia will be holding a three-day workshop on Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and how they can be used for energy policies and projects. The workshop specifically aims to enable participants to:

Familiarize with the principles and process of HIA, as well as issues and challenges surrounding their use especially for energy policies and projects
Design a workplan to move forward …

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