The unending toll in Gaza and other threats to human rights and global health, concerns across many countries about the spread of COVID by healthcare facilities, and the importance of public health leadership – these are among the topics covered in this week’s column.
We also bring updates on infectious diseases, tobacco control and climate health matters.
Don’t miss the details of upcoming events, as well as some celebratory selfies.
The quotable?
While the headlines focus on dollars and deficit tonight, prevention is where real value lies. Let’s raise our gaze to long-term health.”
In focus
Three cities that share a healthy vision for their residents have been globally recognised for their smoke-free parks, clean air initiatives and obesity-busting school lunch initiatives, reports UN News.
Córdoba in Argentina, Fortaleza in Brazil and Manchester in the UK were awarded at a healthy cities summit, co-hosted by the the WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Vital Strategies.
The Argentinian city won recognition for its policy to eliminate sugary and artificially sweetened drinks and ultra-processed foods from all schools by 2026. So far, 15,000 primary schoolchildren in 26 schools have benefited.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the cities were at the forefront of the fight against non-communicable diseases and injuries.
Fortaleza established its first legal framework for air quality surveillance in a bid to curb air pollution and help people breathe more easily. The Brazilian city authorities in 2023 adopted a decree ensuring local monitoring of air pollutants and the installation of low-cost sensors for better data collection.
Greater Manchester is continuing its efforts to curb tobacco use, introducing its first smoke-free 6.5-acre park. The northern English city also launched a smoke-free toolkit for hospitals and is developing a broader toolkit to support organisations to create tobacco-free spaces.
New recommendations to strengthen mental health policy and systems have been released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The guidance focuses on:
- protecting and upholding human rights, ensuring mental health policies and services are aligned with international human rights standards
- promoting holistic care with an emphasis on lifestyle and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions
- addressing social and economic factors that shape and affect mental health including employment, housing and education;
- implementing prevention strategies and promote population-wide mental health and well-being
- ensuring people with lived experience are empowered to participate in policy planning and design to ensure mental health policies and services are responsive to their needs.
Global health
#AusPol
First Nations health
https://evaluation.treasury.gov.au/publications/randomised-trials-australian-public-policy-review
Public health
#CroakeyREAD
https://drrhondawilson.com/f/culturally-responsive-practice—our-new-book-chapter-out-now
Events upcoming
