When I started practicing as an internal medicine physician years ago, I had many thoughts about what my future in patient care might hold. I can confidently say that flying to Egypt for the international climate conference COP27 was not one of them! And yet, mid-career, I found myself in Sharm El-Sheikh, encountering images […]
Tag: climate change
At COP27: Address the health impacts of climate change, focus on local solutions
For many years, addressing climate change has largely hinged on macro-level government policies and market-driven approaches to halt emissions. While societal and economic shifts remain critical, we increasingly recognize the present, life-altering impacts of climate change on every aspect of life from food security and water access to health risks and economic challenges. Climate […]
Planetary health care and Barbara Starfield´s legacy
Barbara Starfield advanced academic scholarship on the role of primary care in health systems and universal health coverage. Her research on equity contributed to evidence-informed health policymaking1. On June 10th 2021, we commemorate her 10th death anniversary. Starfield described four attributes of primary care- first contact, continuity of care, comprehensiveness, and coordination – and […]
Science, society & politics: being future ready
In the last nine months, COVID-19 has proved to be unlike any other outbreak the world has seen in the past century. Its impact is beyond health and is expected to last years – if not more. We saw first-hand how ill-prepared we were to deal with the pandemic. Even countries like USA and […]
The Ethical Dilemma of Conducting Research & the Inevitable Environmental Footprint
Last summer I had the opportunity to work with a team studying the correlation between climate change, migration, and health systems resilience and while doing so recognized several challenges regarding eco-conscious research practices. The issue at hand is that many researchers do not conceptualize their work through the lens of sustainability. It is a […]
Challenges for climate change research: interdisciplinarity, evidence use & carbon footprint
Recently, on the occasion of the ambitious Franco-German Make Our Planet Great Again program, I was able to set up an international research team to try to understand the relationship between climate change, population mobilities and health systems. Our project will take place in two of the countries most affected by population mobility induced […]
Why drowning is ignored – and what can be done about it
Drowning is the third leading cause of death by unintentional injury, killing an estimated 360,000 a year globally, the majority of whom are children. In particular, drowning presents a significant risk in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) where 90% of drowning deaths occur. The majority of LMICs have no national waters safety plan, or even mention […]
‘Sin tax’: making clear who commits the sin
As countries introduce policy measures to respond to the growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), one policy intervention that is becoming increasingly popular is excise tax imposed on harmful products such as tobacco and alcohol – popularly known as ‘sin tax’1. This form of tax serves a dual purpose: reducing consumption of unhealthy products and […]
Climate change and health at WHA71: an environment for action
The recently concluded 71st World Health Assembly provides an unprecedented environment for action to act on climate change. Alice McGushin & Yassen Tcholakov talk about their hopes on the WHO to exert hard diplomacy on climate change for health . The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised climate change as the “defining issue of the […]