Please suggest and send to the coordinators further news and announcements related to the network’s core themes.
► Health themes at the Durban Climate Change Conference
Health dimensions of climate change attained a much higher profile at the latest round of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-17), which took place 28 November - 9 December in Durban, South Africa. Health was identified as an adaptation priority, and a series of events highlighted aspects of health and climate. These included the Durban Declaration, on behalf of health professionals, public health advocates, and healthcare policy makers, which calls upon climate negotiators to rapidly advance new and binding climate mitigation policy measures, for the sake of human health, while also supporting health-oriented adaptation actions. More details can be found at:
http://www.who.int/globalchange/mediacentre/events/2011/durban_conference_update/en/index.html
► ‘Global Health and Public Health Education’, Hong Kong, 25-27 October 2011
This international conference at CUHK School of Public Health, Hong Kong, will provide a platform for exchange between academics and practitioners in fields including environmental health and sustainability, climate change, infectious diseases prevention and control, and humanitarian response to disaster. Deadline for abstracts is 15 August 2011. More conference details can be found at:
http://www.sphpc.cuhk.edu.hk/conference2011.
► Global Environmental Change and Human Health (GECHH) programme events, September/October 2011
A GECHH Symposium on ‘Healthy Forests for Life’ will take place on 19-21 September 2011, at Verbania, Italy. The Symposium will gather researchers with expertise in the human-health/forest nexus to boost further international multidisciplinary research.
http://www.ihdp.unu.edu/article/read/global-environmental-change-and-human-health-healthy-forests#doc-
GECHH will also host workshops in the period 9-15 October 2011 in Beijing, China, on ‘Health and Environmental Changes in Mega Urban Areas’. http://www.ihdp.unu.edu/article/read/3rd-international-student-training-workshop-on-health-and
► ‘Zoonoses in a Changing Socioeconomic Environment’, Wirral, UK, 6 July 2011
The UK’s North West Zoonoses Group Annual Conference for 2011. Contact Caroline Harcourt (harcourt@liv.ac.uk) for programme and further information.
► Environmental health data in new WHO statistics gateway
The Global Health Observatory (GHO) is the new WHO global health statistics site and aims to: compile major sources of health data; provide easy access to country data and metadata; present scientifically sound information in user-friendly formats. The GHO database contains a list of indicators that can be selected by theme or through a multi-dimension query functionality.
http://www.who.int/gho/about/en/index.html
► World Health Assembly passes multiple resolutions
The 64th World Health Assembly concluded on Tuesday 24 May. Delegates adopted resolutions on a number of global health issues including unanimous agreement to reinvigorate efforts to promote safe drinking-water, sanitation and public health. Member States also adopted a resolution on cholera and mechanisms for its control. World Health Assembly documentation and full coverage can be found on the WHO web site:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2011/wha64/en/index.html
► Funding opportunity & training opportunity: SSRC Collaborative Grants Program & FORHEAD Summer Institute, China
These two opportunities are linked. The 4th round of the Social Science Research Council’s Collaborative Grants Program provides funds of $5-15,000 to Chinese institutions for interdisciplinary research projects on environment and health, including international collaborations. The deadline for proposals is August 22, 2011. See: http://www.forhead.org/en/newsinfos.aspx?NID=1093&ID=623
The 3rd FORHEAD Summer Institute on ‘Researching Environment and Health: Concepts, Methods, and Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration’ will provide a series of intensive workshops to assist researchers in developing proposals for the Collaborative Grants Program. The Institute will be held June 26-July 2 in Guangzhou. The deadline for applications is May 9, 2011. See:
http://www.forhead.org/en/newsinfos.aspx?NID=1093&ID=622
► WHO recognition of the increasing threat from cholera
The WHO Executive Board has recommended a resolution to the 64th World Health Assembly on cholera, urging renewed attention to the threat of cholera in many countries and regions, and the need for effective public health interventions. Cholera was recognized as a clear marker of environmental management, as well as an indicator of how we should engage with International Health Regulations and conduct surveillance. http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB128/B128_R7-en.pdf
► UK government plan to tackle malaria
The UK has developed a new strategy for British aid to combat malaria. The UK Government has committed to help halve malaria deaths in at least ten hot spots in Africa and Asia. Access the consultation papers and new Frameworks for Results document at www.dfid.gov.uk/Global-Issues/Emerging-policy/Malaria/
► COP-16 Cancun: increased attention to health issues at the global climate change conference
Health issues seem to have achieved greater prominence than previously at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Cancun in December 2010. According to the WHO, health risks were raised in many of the plenary speeches by government delegations. Health also featured in a series of side events organized by various agencies and non-governmental organizations. A Cancun Climate and Health Statement was provided to negotiators on behalf of the health community, highlighting health concerns of climate change.
http://www.who.int/globalchange/mediacentre/events/2010/un_climate_change_conf_29112010/en/
http://www.env-health.org/IMG/pdf/20101203_Cancun_Statement.pdf
► Paper series on the health impacts of climate change upon working people
In November 2010, the international peer-reviewed journal Global Health Action, published a series of papers on ‘Climate change impacts on working people’. The series primarily looks at the effects of occupational heat exposures, but also risks to workforces associated with non-heat related consequences of climate change. The full text of all articles is free to access:
www.globalhealthaction.net
► Outcomes of 2010 Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa
At a meeting in Luanda, Angola in November 2010, African Health and Environment Ministers adopted the ‘Luanda Commitment’, which outlines the continent’s health and environment priorities, requires countries to take steps to address them, and accelerates the implementation of the 2008 Libreville Declaration. The ministers also formally established the Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA), a mechanism to stimulate policies and investments for joint actions on health and environment in Africa, and adopted a Joint Statement on Climate Change and Health.
http://www.unep.org/roa/hesa/Events/2ndInterMinisterialConference/tabid/6011/Default.aspx
► UN General Assembly 2010: access to clean water and sanitation as a human right
The United Nations General Assembly has declared that access to clean water and sanitation is a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. The Assembly also expressed deep concern that 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water and over 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation, and called for greater international assistance to poorer countries in terms of funding, resources and technology to promote universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35456&Cr=sanitation&Cr1
► New publication launch: Journal of Public Health in Africa
A new open-source refereed journal has been launched on public health care delivery in the African continent. The Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHIA) will be published online and quarterly. The maiden edition includes articles on HIV/AIDS and the health system, and the role of mass media in public health discourse. The JPHIA will cover all aspect of public health in Africa.
http://www.publichealthinafrica.org/index.php/jphia/login
► World Health Assembly 2010: resolutions related to environment and health
The 63rd World Health Assembly, which brought together health ministers and senior health officials from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Member States, took place in May 2010. The delegates adopted resolutions on a number of global health issues, including the improvement of health through safe and environmentally sound waste management, and the improvement of health through effective management of obsolete pesticides and other chemicals.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2010/wha63/en/index.html
► ‘Global Ecohealth Challenges; Multiple Perspectives’, London, 18-20 August 2010
The EcoHealth 2010 Conference will be hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. This is the 3rd biennial conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health (IAEH). It aims to bring together academic institutions, government bodies and civil society groups to discuss jointly the major challenges facing people, wildlife and ecosystems internationally in 2010 and the future.
http://www.ecohealth2010.org/
► Funding opportunity & training opportunity: SSRC Collaborative Grants Program & 2nd FORHEAD Summer Institute, China
These two opportunities are linked. The 3rd round of the Social Science Research Council’s Collaborative Grants Program provides funds of $10-15,000 to Chinese institutions for interdisciplinary research projects on environment and health issues that can inform the responses of government and civil society, or for collaboration between researchers and potential users of research. The deadline for draft proposals through the Summer Institute is May 30, 2010. The deadline for full proposals is August 20, 2010.
The FORHEAD Summer Institute provides an introduction to various disciplinary approaches to the study of environment-related health risks (including both natural and social sciences) and to the design and management of interdisciplinary research projects. Participants will analyze previous studies and refine their own research designs with feedback from a team of experts. The Institute will be held July 18-25 in Kunming. The deadline for applications is May 30, 2010.
The calls for proposals and applications can also be downloaded from the SSRC website or the FORHEAD website.
► Funding opportunity: DFID Research Programme Consortia - Tackling the Neglected Crisis of Undernutrition
The UK Department for International Development plans large-scale funding for collaborative research on three health themes: one of which focuses on undernutrition, and its links with disease and food security. DFID is seeking Expressions of Interest from suppliers to lead a consortium of organizations with multi-disciplinary skills in the theme. DFID is looking for innovative, strategic research that will build upon the existing evidence base and provide new knowledge on how to shape effective service delivery and strengthen health systems in the future. The lead organization may be based in any country and at least 3 partner institutions must be from developing countries. Grants of up to £7.5 million are available over 6 years. The deadline for EoIs is 23rd April 2010. See the following link:
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Working-with-DFID/Procurement/Current-contract-opportunities1/
► World Water Day 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World, 22 March 2010
International World Water Day is held annually as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year the theme will focus on water quality, reflecting its importance alongside water quantity management. The UN website has details of events and campaign materials.
http://www.worldwaterday2010.info/
► Funding opportunity: Wellcome Trust International Engagement Awards
The Wellcome Trust has announced its International Engagement Awards for projects aimed at building public engagement activities and dialogue relating to health research in developing countries. Grants of up to £30,000 are available over a maximum of 3 years. Deadlines are: 30th April 2010 (expressions of interest sent by 27th March) and 29th October 2010 (expressions of interest by 2nd October). See the following link:
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Grants/International-Engagement-Awards/
► ‘Climate Change: Health and Ecology’, Uppsala, Sweden, Sept 1-3 2010
The Climate Centre at the National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden will hold an interdisciplinary conference to link linking research from veterinary and human medicine, ecology and evolution, with the objective of reviewing current understanding and proposing future action.
For further information please see: http://tiny.cc/SVA_Climate2010
► Funding opportunity: Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme
The ESPA programme is an interdisciplinary research funding partnership between the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC). The programme has a ‘health’ theme, linking ecosystem services, disease ecology and human wellbeing. This announcement of opportunity is split into two funding streams: opportunity for shorter-term, innovative, conceptual development type projects; and catalyst funding in preparation for a larger research consortium grant. Closing date for these grants is 3 March 2010.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/espa/events/ao4.asp
► Funding opportunity: UK research councils’ joint Environmental Exposure and Health Initiative
A call for proposals has been announced under a joint initiative between three UK research councils (MRC, NERC and ESRC) and two UK government departments (DH and Defra). The call is for large-scale interdisciplinary programmes that bridge the interface between research, policy and practice in addressing the interconnections and pathways between environmental pollutants and stressors, exposures, early effects and health outcomes in humans. The deadline for outline proposals is 19th January 2010.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/eehi/
► Funding opportunity: International Research initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change
The International Development Research Centre, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada are partners in this funding opportunity. This Initiative will support the formation of multinational teams from Canada and from low and middle income countries, who will develop networks and programs of research on adaptation to climate change, with health as one of the core themes. The deadline for applications is 7th January, 2010.
http://www.idrc.ca/iriacc/
► ‘Health, Poverty and Human Development’, Varanasi, India 5-7 March, 2010
The Indian Association of Social sciences and Health (IASSH) is holding its Seventh Conference on the theme ‘Health, Poverty and Human Development’ at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The organizers warmly invite research scholars and other members of the EHD Network to present a paper at the conference, which includes sessions on environment, health and poverty. For further information please see the website:
http://www.iassh.org/sevenConf/sevenconfpage.html
► Journal call for papers: IJSSS Special Issue on ‘Health, Disease, Environment and Longevity’
The International Journal of Society Systems Science (IJSSS) has issued a call for papers for this special issue. The aims of the special issue are to explore the linkages between health, disease, environment and longevity in order to identify patterns, processes and policies of relevance to human society. All papers will be subject to peer review. The deadline for submission of papers is 31st May 2010.
http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php?callID=1267
► Funding opportunity: UK research councils’ joint scheme on Environmental and Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases
A research initiative to establish novel inter-disciplinary approaches to studying the ecology of infectious diseases has been launched by four UK research councils: the MRC, ESRC, NERC and BBSRC. Under he first phase of the scheme, a call has been made for Catalyst Grants aimed at enabling researchers to develop partnerships and strategies for full proposal development of research consortia (in the second phase). The deadline for phase 1 proposals is 16th December 2009.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Calls/ESEI/index.htm
► UN UPEACE Certificate in Sustainable Business, 1-2 October 2009, London, UK
The United Nation's mandated centre for Executive Education is holding a course on sustainable business in London on 1-2nd October. The course offers insight from industry experts and covers core themes including: leadership, stakeholder engagement, cross-sector partnerships, branding and communications, sustainability frameworks, and social enterprise. EHD Network members are offered 20% off the academic rate to participate.
http://www.idealmedia.org.uk/events/upeace_2.htm
► Funding opportunity: ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Research on international Development
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have launched phase 2 of their joint funding scheme for development research (poverty alleviation). One thematic area highlighted in the call, Cities and Development, may be of particular interest to Network members. Deadline for applications is 24th September 2009.
www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities
► Climate and Health Council Pledge
The Climate and Health Council has organized an online petition in the run-up to the UN conference on climate change (COP 15) in Copenhagen in December. The pledge is aimed at giving a voice to health professionals calling for active engagement by governments to limit the causes of human-caused climate change. See www.climateandhealth.org/pledge/
► Updated national data on environment and health available from WHO
Estimates of the environmental burden of disease in the WHO’s 193 Member States have been updated.In developing countries, diseases most affected by the environment are diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and unintentional injuries.
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/countryprofiles/en/
► Busan Pledge for Action on Children’s Health and the Environment
Health and environment experts unanimously adopted The Busan Pledge for Action on Children’s Health and the Environment at the Third WHO Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment. The Pledge calls for urgent action by governmental decision-makers, health providers, educators and scientists to end unnecessary deaths of children from preventable environmental hazards. The pledge specifically identifies the need for strengthened advocacy, communications, training and research. [extracted from WHO Public Health and Environment e-News]
http://ceh2009.org/popup/BusanPledge.pdf
► International workshop ‘Urban Health in sub-Saharan Africa’,12-15 January 2010, Bamako, Mali
This international workshop focuses on the multiple ways in which health in sub-Saharan Africa has been – and is being – produced, maintained and regulated in the context of processes of modernization and globalization, from an interdisciplinary and historically-informed perspective. Paper submissions should address themes of ‘de/reregulation of the health sector’, ‘religious and traditional healing in urban centres’ and/or ‘mobility and translocality in health-related practice’. For more information contact hansjoerg.dilger@berlin.de or viola.hoerbst@iscte.pt.
