This booklet presents key messages for action, summarized from a set of chapters on different environmental health issues, available at www.who.int/ ceh/publications/...ght medbox">healthyenvironmentsforhealthychildren. The work is a result of an on-going partnership between WHO, UNEP and UNICEF in the area of children’s environmental health, and seeks to update the 2002 joint publication “Children in the New Millennium: Environmental Impact on Health.”
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The revised guidelines contain recommendations for specific administrative, environmental controls and respiratory protection, following the assessment made by an external group of experts convened as members of the Guideline Development Group. More...over, these guidelines focus on interventions specific to preventing transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bridging with the core components of infection prevention and control programmes at the national and acute health care facility level
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Key facts
Buruli ulcer is a chronic debilitating disease caused by an environmental Mycobacterium ulcerans.
At least 33 countries with tropical, subtropical and temperate climates have reported Buruli ulcer in Africa, South America and Western... Pacific regions.
It often affects the skin and sometimes bone and can lead to permanent disfigurement and long-term disability.
The mode of transmission is not known and there is no prevention for the disease.
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Human health and well-being are intimately linked to the state of the environment. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), climate change, air pollution and exposure to hazardous chemicals are major c...auses of environment-related burden of disease across the world. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, almost a quarter of all deaths are attributable to the health impacts of environmental hazards. Air pollution is the leading cause of deaths from environmental risks and is a leading contributor to the NCD epidemic.
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People in prisons and other places of detention live in a closed environment and in close proximity with one another – conditions that facilitate transmission of diseases. They also have a greater underlying burden of disease and worse ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health conditions than the general population, and frequently face greater exposure to risks such as smoking, poor hygiene and weak immune defence due to stress, poor nutrition or existing diseases. All these factors make people living in prison more susceptible to infections.
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Accessed on 06.03.2022
Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, in...dustrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases and is an important source of morbidity and mortality.
Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. WHO data shows that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits containing high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures. WHO is supporting countries to address air pollution.
From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate. The combined effects of ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution cause millions of premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Website
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The World Health Organization (WHO) video titled "Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments" highlights the significant impact of environmental...n> factors on global health. It reports that in 2012, approximately 12.6 million deaths—nearly one in four worldwide—were attributable to unhealthy environments. The video emphasizes the importance of addressing environmental risks to prevent diseases and improve public health outcomes.
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Despite some improvements, current levels of air pollution still pose a considerable risk to the environment and to human health in the WHO European Region. One issue of concern is that monitoring o...f particulate matter is very limited in the countries of eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and presents the policy implications, the aim being to stimulate policy-makers to develop more effective strategies to reduce air pollution and its health effects in those countries.
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There is increasing interest in understanding the role of air pollution as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. Nine of 10 individuals breathe air with polluted compounds that have a great impact on lung tissue. The nature of the r...elationship is complex, and new or updated data are constantly being reported in the literature. The goal of our review was to summarize the most important air pollutants and their impact on the main respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory infections, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis) to reduce both short- and the long-term exposure consequences. We considered the most important air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ozone, particulate matter and biomass smoke, and observed their impact on pulmonary pathologies. We focused on respiratory pathologies, because air pollution potentiates the increase in respiratory diseases, and the evidence that air pollutants have a detrimental effect is growing. It is imperative to constantly improve policy initiatives on air quality in both high- and low-income countries.
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WHO has identified climate change as one of the greatest health threats of the 21st century and air pollution as the single largest environmental health...span> risk. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer, are the leading causes of death in the European Region and globally, the latter rate being 74%
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After Workplace exposures and Sexual Assault
| DIRECTORATE: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES
| DIVISION: PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
| SUB-DIVI...SION: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES
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A Step-by-Step Guide.
It is intended for health planners, dengue or vector control programme managers and individuals, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other agencies with interests and/or expertise in developing biological, chemical, ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">environmental and communication interventions to prevent and control dengue fever.
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A chemical release may not always be immediately apparent given the fact that many agents are odourless and colourless, and some cause no immediately noticeable effects or symptoms. Be alert to the possible presence of a chemical.
Arabic version available: http://www.who.int/...-to-highlight medbox">environmental_health_emergencies/deliberate_events/warning_signs_May2017_ar.pdf
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The Vienna Declaration was signed at the end of the Fifth High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment. The virtual meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Austria, brought together ...46 ministers and representatives of 56 countries in the pan-European region.
The group discussed how to introduce substantial changes in transport and mobility systems in order to address multiple challenges such as ambient air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, physical inactivity and noncommunicable diseases, and social inequity in access to transport and mobility.
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Global Knowledge for Climate and Public Health. Informing action to protect populations from the health risks of climate change. It is in response to growing calls for actionable information to prot...ect people from the health risks of climate change and other environmental hazards.
Climate and health are inextricably linked. Climate change, extreme weather events and environmental degradation have fundamental impact on human health and well-being. More people than ever before are exposed to increased climate-related health risks, from poor water and air quality to infectious diseases and heat stress.
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The annual Joint Meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment and the World Health Organization (WH...O) Core Assessment Group on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) was held in Rome, Italy, from 13 to 22 September. The FAO panel of experts had met in preparatory sessions from 8 to 12 September. The Meeting was held in pursuance of recommendations made by previous Meetings and accepted by the governing bodies of FAO and WHO that studies should be undertaken jointly by experts to evaluate possible hazards to humans arising from the occurrence of pesticide residues in foods. During the meeting the FAO Panel of Experts was responsible for reviewing pesticide use patterns (use of good agricultural practices), data on the chemistry and composition of the pesticides and methods of analysis for pesticide residues and for estimating the maximum residue levels that might occur as a result of the use of the pesticides according to good agricultural use practices. The WHO Core Assessment Group was responsible for reviewing toxicological and related data and for estimating, where possible and appropriate, acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and acute reference doses (ARfDs) of the pesticides for humans. This report contains information on ADIs, ARfDs, maximum residue levels, and general principles for the evaluation of pesticides. The recommendations of the Joint Meeting, including further research and information, are proposed for use by Member governments of the respective agencies and other interested parties.
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Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group m...ust be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource fo everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy lifestyles to wellbeing.
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Taking a multisectoral, One Health approach is necessary to address complex health threats at the human-animal-environment interface, such as rabie...s, zoonotic influenza, anthrax, and Rift Valley fever. Such zoonotic diseases continue to have major impacts on health, livelihoods, and economies, and cannot be effectively addressed by one sector alone.
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This brief summarizes the lessons learned across Europe on the redevelopment of contaminated sites as a part of urban planning and renewal. Specifically, it aims to provide information on the health and en...vironmental impacts to be considered during site redevelopment projects, and to identify good practice and relevant local experiences to support effective, healthy and sustainable redevelopment of contaminated sites. As such, this brief offers key messages to support the work of local decision-makers, planners, practitioners, researchers and civil society organizations.
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Overview
• How are diseases transmitted from person to person?
• What are the principles of infection prevention and control
• What IPC measures are other countries / organisations recommending for the transport industry/workers?
• How can we apply this knowledge to protect us while w...e protect our country?
• Administrative controls = screening and awareness, people flow, health promotion
• Environmental controls = ventilation, airflow
• Personal protective equipment = use of masks, gloves, hand hygiene
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