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Climate change to reduce water available for agriculture, report says

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "on Thursday warned climate change will restrict the availability of water for farming in decades to come, including in the Mediterranean region, and urged governments to take action," Agence France-Presse reports.

13 Jun 2011

Renewal Project receives Palo Alto City Council's certification to rebuild, expand Stanford Hospitals

The Palo Alto City Council today voted unanimously to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), grant land use approvals and execute a Development Agreement with Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford University, including a $175 million community benefits package as part of the Renewal Project.

7 Jun 2011

Climate change can harm indigenous peoples' health

The Canadian Arctic. The Amazonian jungle. The fringes of an African rainforest. These lands are home to some of the most isolated and vulnerable people in the world - the indigenous populations of Canada, Peru and Uganda. Because of their dependence on the land for food and water, indigenous peoples' health is particularly affected by climatic changes. Indeed, they are already seeing dramatic effects due to changing temperatures.

3 Jun 2011

Oxfam report warns about steep increases in food costs, demand

With food costs rising for the second time in three years, Oxfam released a report on Tuesday predicting "the price of some staples such as corn will double in the next 20 years amid a permanent crisis caused by rising demand, flat crop yields and climate change," Associated Press/Forbes reports.

1 Jun 2011

Scientists find increases in rain and temperature could signal deadly cholera outbreaks months before they strike

With recent deadly cholera outbreaks in Haiti and Cameroon providing the latest indication of a menacingly resurgent disease, scientists have discovered rain and temperature fluctuations in at-risk areas could predict epidemics months in advance, according to a new study published today in the June 2011 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

1 Jun 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

As the G8 summit began in Deauville, France, on Thursday, David Olson, the council's director of policy communications, wrote on the Global Health Council's "Blog 4 Global Health" that "global health is nowhere visible on the agenda," which "is in striking contrast to the final communique of the G8 Muskoka, which devoted a significant amount of space to health" (5/26).

27 May 2011

Cattle plague – rinderpest, eradicated for good

As welcome news, world farm monitors on Wednesday declared a cattle-killing virus that has been a curse through the ages as eradicated. This is the first time an animal disease has been eradicated in human history. The global watchdog for farm-animal trade approved a report certifying that the last 14 countries of the world were free of rinderpest, also called cattle plague.

26 May 2011

Mold and ragweed allergies on the rise in the U.S.

Allergies are on the rise and it is noted that more numbers of Americans sensitive to ragweed and mold. Phoenix, Las Vegas and the Riverside-San Bernardino area are among the 30 worst affected areas with this allergy.

26 May 2011

Water shortages most extreme in Middle East, African regions, report says

"Water shortages are worst in Africa and the Middle East, and the hardest hit are nations in the Gulf, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to a study released Wednesday by risk analysis firm Maplecroft," the Associated Press reports in an article examining the firm's "Water Stress Index."

20 May 2011

U.K. parliamentary committee report says U.N. response to Pakistan floods was 'patchy'

The U.N.'s response to severe flooding in Pakistan was "patchy," according to a report from the U.K.'s International Development Committee, which also said leadership and humanitarian coordination since the flooding started has been poor, AlertNet reports. As of February, about $1.2 billion of the U.N.'s $1.9 billion appeal had been received, according to the report, Reuters writes.

11 May 2011

Chances of dying in natural disaster decreasing, economic costs increasing worldwide, U.N. report says

The risk of dying in a natural disaster is decreasing worldwide, but the economic toll weather-related catastrophes inflict is rising "often due to a lack of investment," according to a new U.N. report released in Geneva on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

11 May 2011

Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries opens in Istanbul

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday in Istanbul opened the Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries "to discuss a new 10-year aid plan to help lift nations out of poverty," Agence France-Presse reports.

10 May 2011

Three Ontario projects set to further knowledge and discovery in biomonitoring, drug development

As part of the Genome Canada Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition, which as a whole awarded over $58 million to 16 projects across the country, the researchers in Ontario will be focusing on biomonitoring, understanding gene function with the aim of identifying genes or proteins for drug targets, and the creation of synthetic antibodies to target cancers and other diseases.

9 May 2011

U.N. report forecasts global population increases through 2100

The world's population "is expected to grow from nearly 6.9 billion currently to 9.3 billion by 2050 and 10.1 billion by 2100," the U.N. said in a report on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports, noting that the U.N. uses the projections "to devise and fund programs for problems ranging from climate change to maternal mortality".

5 May 2011

Global climate change could increase future heat wave mortality

Global climate change is anticipated to bring more extreme weather phenomena such as heat waves that could impact human health in the coming decades.

4 May 2011

USAID announces shift in gender programming, organizational structure

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah this week announced the agency has transformed its Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade (EGAT) Women in Development Office into a new Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Devex reports (Leonzon, 4/27).

29 Apr 2011

AU health ministers highlight concerns over climate change's impact on health at CAMH5

African health ministers last week discussed their concerns about the health implications of climate change during the fifth African Union Conference of Ministers of Health in Windhoek, Namibia, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. The conference, which focused on climate change, ended on Friday.

26 Apr 2011

Scientists discover special mechanism that delays ageing

Animals that reproduce asexually by somatic cloning have special mechanisms that delay ageing provide exceptionally good health. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have shown how colony-forming ascidians can activate the enzyme telomerase, which protects DNA. This enzyme is more active also in humans who attain an advanced age.

22 Apr 2011

Hospitals to host Earth Day events emphasizing link between health, environment

Hospitals and other members of the health care sector will be marking Earth Day 2011 with a wide variety of events showcasing their efforts to develop sustainable operations and reduce their environmental footprint.

22 Apr 2011

New Maryland research center to focus on environmental policymaking, activism

A new University of Maryland research center will focus on the human side of environmental policymaking and activism - one of the first of its kind in the field.

22 Apr 2011