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| In this issue |
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| Global News |
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Climate and Health Summit a Success!
HCWH and some of the world's most prominent health organizations, including global doctors, nurses, medical students and public health federations, the World Health Organization and others partnered to organize the First Global Climate and Health Summit. The event, attended by more than 200 people from over 40 countries, took place in Durban, South Africa, parallel to the global climate treaty negotiations. The conference concluded with the endorsing and issuing of a Declaration and an urgent health sector Call to Action. Several health side events brought the Summit's message to the negotiators and the world's media. more |
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In Memorium, Yves Chartier
We are deeply saddened to report that our friend and colleague Yves Chartier died in a tragic accident in the Jura mountains while snowshoeing with his family outside of Geneva this past Sunday January 8.For many years Yves has been WHO's leader on medical waste management and mercury-free healthcare. He was co-creator and co-leader of the WHO-HCWH Global Mercury-Free Healthcare Initiative, and WHO's point person for the UNDP-GEF Global Healthcare Waste Project, in which WHO and HCWH are principle cooperating agencies. Many in the HCWH community were close to Yves, having worked with him and spent time with him in places ranging from Daakar and Geneva, to Berkeley and Katmandu. We will miss him dearly. more |
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| Asia |
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Regional Meeting Moves Medical Waste Management Forward in Asia
Health Care Without Harm and strategic partners HealthCare Foundation Nepal (HECAF) and Toxics Link (India) participated in a three-day healthcare waste management workshop convened by the WHO Regional Office for South East Asia in December 2011. Participants also included government representatives from eleven countries. Delegates visited two hospitals to see model systems in operation and drafted national plans for medical waste management and mercury substitution. more |
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Philippines: HCWH Continues Campaign on Faulty Incinerator Loan
For the fifth consecutive year, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia called on the executive and legislative branches for the cancellation of a 15-year old loan from Austria that imported obsolete medical waste incinerators to the country and is costing the Philippine public US $2 million a year that could otherwise be devoted to protecting public health. more |
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| Latin America |
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HCWH Calls on Chile to Ban Mercury Thermometers
HCWH, which has worked with the Chilean government to phase-out mercury-based medical devices in more than 127 public hospitals called on the Secretary of Health to play a leadership role in Latin America and ban mercury fever thermometers nationally more (in Spanish) |
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Latin American Conference on Hospitals for Environmental Health
HCWH Latin America successfully organized and held the First Latin American Conference on Hospitals for Environmental Health, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Conference, which included participants from more than 10 countries, launched the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda in the region. See agenda and download presentations (in Spanish)
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| Africa |
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South Africa: Minister of Health Calls for Strong Action on Climate Change
In the opening keynote speech of the First Climate and Health Summit, Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health of South Africa, called for strong action on climate change. He was followed by Nnimmo Bassey of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria and President of Friends of the Earth International who discussed the connection between the local and global health impacts of fossil fuels. view videos |
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| Featured Partners |
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Partners in the First Global Climate and Health Summit
The following organizations were partners in the first Global Climate and Health Summit: Climate and Health Council, Climate and Health Alliance, Australia, FHI 360, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, groundWork South Africa, Health and Environment Alliance Europe, International Council of Nurses, International Federation of Medical Students Associations, People's Health Movement, PHI Center for Public Health and Climate Change US, Projeto Hospitais Saudaveis Brazil, Public Health Association of South Africa, World Health Organization, World Medical Association, World Vision. more |
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| Event Calendar |
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Taiwan: Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda
Date: 11th April 2012
A Pre-Conference prior to the 20th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services. more |
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Malmö, Sweden: 4thCleanMed Europe 2012
Dates: 26th –28th, September, 2012
HCWH Europe and Region Skåne are organizing CleanMed Europe 2012. Founded in 2001 by HCWH, CleanMed is the world's leading conference focusing on sustainable healthcare. more |
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Webinar: Climate Change and Public Health - Risks, Preparedness and Transformation
Dates: 26th, January, 2012. more |
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| Editorial |
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Challenges for the New Year
As we move into 2012 and the Year of the Dragon, the world is facing both danger and opportunity on many fronts. We are, indeed, in crisis.
Nowhere did we see this more clearly than in Durban, South Africa during the global climate negotiations this past December. Confronted with a trajectory of increasing emissions that is rapidly taking us past the "safe" zone of 2 degrees Celsius temperature increase - and into an uncertain future - the world's governments finally agreed on something: to put off taking meaningful action until 2020. This was hailed by some as a triumph, since the other option on the table seemed to be total collapse of the talks.
In the First Global Climate and Health Summit, held parallel to the official proceedings in Durban, there was a more optimistic tone. Of course, health sector leaders discussed the real life impacts the climate change is bringing, and will increasingly bring to public health. But what also became clear is that there is a tremendous opportunity for the healthsector—doctors, nurses, public health workers, hospitals, health systems and ministries of health - to actively engage in the climate issue. The health sector, we agreed, can leverage its moral authority, and in some cases its political power and economic clout to raise the alarm and to address the greatest global health threat of the 21st century.
At HCWH our main focus is to work with the health sector to clean up its own act. That's why just before Durban we also launched the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda, a ten-point plan to foster a transformation in hospitals and health systems around the world. This Agenda will form the basis of a Global Network of hospitals and health systems that will work together to reduce health care's ecological footprint, including its impact on climate, while fostering public environmental health around the world.
It is this vision of promoting public health by assuring people's access to a clean environment that drove our colleague Yves Chartier to dedicate his life's work to disaster relief in places like Haiti and to developing global policies on issues like medical waste that would make a difference in local people's lives. We mourn his passing and also know for certain that the world is a better place because of him.
You can find more about Yves in this Newsletter.
Enjoy the newsletter!
Josh Karliner
International Team Coordinator
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| Featured News – Global |
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The Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda
Health Care Without Harm has launched a new initiative designed to foster greater ecological sustainability and environmental health in the health care sector around the world. The Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Agenda is a comprehensive framework for hospitals and health systems to reduce their ecological footprint and play a leading role in addressing major environmental health challenges - such as chemical contamination, medical waste and climate change - in the hospital setting and the broader community. Hospitals, health systems and health organizations can join this effort by becoming part of the new Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network. more |
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| U.S. and Canada |
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FDA Action on Cephalosporins "A Good Start"
HCWH praised the Food and Drug Administration's new proposed rule to limit the use of cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics, in food animal production. Reducing non-therapeutic antibiotic use in food animals is critical to the preservation of these medicines for human use," said Gary Cohen, President of HCWH. more |
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| Europe |
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Project: Network Building Ecology for Hospitals
HCWH Europe is participating in a project for sustainable development in healthcare buildings. Project partners are hospitals from Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and the Austrian Institute for Healthy and Ecological Buildings. The project aims to enable hospitals to procure according to green criteria. more
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| New Resources |
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New Training Video on Mercury Waste in Hospitals
HCWH has released a video meant to be part of training program in hospitals around the world aiming to eliminate mercury and safely manage and store mercury waste while governments search for a more permanent solution. The video was sponsored by UNEP and the Government of Norway. watch video |
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