The most important task facing the health promotion sector is to help humanity change how we live in order to address “the converging crises of environmental degradation, climate change, resource depletion and social injustice”. This was one of several challenges that UK expert Professor Mark Dooris issued to the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) conference in Sydney [...]
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As the Earth approaches a critical tipping point, a reminder about why our biological wealth is critical for health
Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point, and our quality of life will suffer substantial degradation by 2050 if we continue on our current path, according to a global group of scientists. The Millennium Alliance for Humanity & the Biosphere recently issued a call to action to the world’s policymakers in this document, A Message to [...]
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Introducing The Health Wrap – a new Croakey feature by Kellie Bisset
I am delighted to introduce a new fortnightly feature at Croakey: The Health Wrap. It will link you into some of the interesting and important health news from the previous fortnight, including items covered at Croakey and elsewhere. Kellie Bisset, an experienced health and medical journalist/editor who is communications director at the Sax Institute (follow [...]
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Every year. One million babies. Die on the day they are born.
Unprecedented progress has been made in reducing maternal and child deaths around the world since 1990, according to a new report from Save the Children. Nonetheless, the statistics remain shocking. Of the three million babies who die each year in their first month of life, almost two-thirds are from just ten countries. Thanks to Joanne [...]
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On climate change, magical thinking and the Government’s inadequate response to the recent Productivity Commission inquiry
Politicians and policymakers seem to be operating in a “post-truth”, invented reality when it comes to responding to the threat of climate change, according to Fiona Armstrong, Convenor of the Climate and Health Alliance. The sort of magical thinking displayed by the Government in its response to the Productivity Commission’s recent inquiry into barriers to [...]
READ MOREThe Philip Morris case illustrates some wider dangers for public health from trade agreements
Efforts by the tobacco company Philip Morris to claim hefty compensation for Australia’s plain packaging laws under secretive legal processes should alarm those with a concern for public health, according to Dr Patricia Ranald, Convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) and Research Associate, University of Sydney. The case also has implications [...]
READ MOREBeyond the headlines on female genital mutilation/cutting
The media spotlight has been on the issue of female genital mutilation in the wake of recent arrests in NSW and Federal Government ambitions to eliminate the practice. While there are many positive aspects to the media’s coverage of this issue, Dr Jasmin Chen, from the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health in Melbourne, also suggests that [...]
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World Economic Forum calls for “climate-smart” decision making (and identifies other public health threats)
Climate change and other health-related issues feature prominently in the World Economic Forum’s new report, Global Risks 2013, which is based on a survey, conducted last September, of over 1,000 experts from industry, government, academia and civil society, who were asked to review 50 global risks. It is worth reading, particularly if you’ve an interest in [...]
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When the bushfire smoke clears, who will step up for action on climate change?
The effects of the bushfires now causing so much trauma in south-eastern Australia will be felt for years to come. They will be felt by so many people, so many communities, and in so many ways. The evidence suggests that these sort of extreme events are going to become more common and more devastating as [...]
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A terrible loss. Vale Gavin Mooney and Delys Weston
Such terrible, devastating news. Health economist Professor Gavin Mooney and his partner Delys Weston have been murdered in Tasmania (more details here from ABC and AAP). Gavin will be known to regular Croakey readers as a prolific contributor since this blog’s start. Delys had recently completed her PhD in the political economy of global warming. Gavin [...]
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