Climate & Health Summit Registration Now Open!
HCWH – Health Care Without Harm, the World Federation of Public Health Associations, the Climate and Health Council and the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwa Zulu Natal are organizing the first Global Climate and Health Summit. Registration is now open!  more

Kanpur: Burning Medical Waste Pollutes Environment
Times of India – The medical waste being burnt in an improper manner at Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital on Friday afternoon led to suffocation in many wards. Several patients admitted at emergency and OPD complained of breathlessness after inhaling the poisonous gases emanating from the medical waste.  more

China: Hospital Launches Pilot Project to Eliminate Mercury-Containing Medical Devices
HCWH – Global Village of Beijing (a non-government, non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education and public participation based in China) and the Qinhuangdao Maternal and Child Health Hospital launched pilot project on eliminating mercury-containing medical devices in Hebei Province. The announcement is a positive step forward in contributing to global efforts to substitute mercury-based medical devices while protecting China's health professionals, patients and the environment from the negative impacts of mercury.  more

UK: BPA Exposure Alters Breast Development in Unborn Girls
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetric – Pregnant women exposed to synthetic bisphenol A (BPA) could give birth to girls who are at a greater risk of suffering from breast cancer later in life, a maternal and newborn health study has shown. It was discovered that the mammary glands of female mice exposed to BPA while in the womb were more reactive to the hormone progesterone - a chemical linked to breast cancer.  more

Global: Health and Climate Change: 7 Ways You Are Being Harmed
by Paul R. Epstein, M.D., M.P.H, Harvard Medical School – Climate change has multiple implications for human health. Its consequences sometimes appear far off. But warming and changing weather patterns are already driving changes in public health. According to this article, there are seven ways in which climate change affects human health and well-being. The areas are: Heatwaves; Asthma and Allergies; Spread of Infectious Diseases; Pests and Diseases Affecting Forests, Crops, Marine Life; Winter Weather Anomalies; Drought; Food Insecurity.  more

Vietnam: Climate Change Cause of Outbreak of Diseases
Saigon Daily – According to a report brought out by the Ministry of Health, the outbreak and recurrence of new epidemics in Vietnam is the result of climate change and abnormal weather conditions. Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases said that elements causing epidemics to reoccur and spread were closely attributed to climate change, environmental pollution, change in strains of virus, increasing population and changing lifestyles.  more

US: HCWH Announces Sustainable Food in Health Care Awards
Sacramento Bee – The HCWH Healthy Food in Health Care (HFHC) Program announced the inaugural winners of its Annual Sustainable Food Awards. The awards recognize significant achievement as well as leadership in health care food service; and are intended to spur competition to achieve measurable, lasting results; to encourage continuous improvement, with an emphasis on quantitative versus qualitative results; and to increase benchmarking progress in sustainable operations in health care food service.  more

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