Environmental risks to health
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Healthy urban environments
Rapid urbanization around the globe has led to an ever more critical role for cities to play in protecting and enhancing their citizens' health. Health is an asset and cornerstone for sustainable urban development. Urban health is influenced by a range of personal, social, economic and environmental determinants including housing, transport, urban planning, lead paint, green spaces, air pollution and climate change.
WHO is responding by building the capacity of the health sector to effectively engage in urban health, working across sectors to support cities to produce contextual, meaningful and actionable information on the health, economic and climate impacts of urban environments. WHO offers tools and resources to enable cities to make the case for investments in interventions which effectively address environmental risks to health. WHO also works to build networks of urban health practitioners to exchange best practices, and advocate for scaling up the implementation of health-enhancing urban policies.
When health is prioritized as a catalyst and goal of development strategies, cities have a unique opportunity to address several determinants of health under one administrative jurisdiction, producing multiple benefits for health, the environment and sustainable economic development.
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All →Regional research agenda on health, migration and displacement in the WHO Western Pacific Region, with...
The Regional research agenda on health, migration and displacement in the WHO Western Pacific Region provides a framework for strengthening evidence generation...
Global research prioritization and action plan on health, migration and displacement in the context of...
This report presents the findings of the Global Research Prioritization Exercise (GRPE) on health, migration and displacement in the context of climate...
Prioritizing food safety issues related to chemical water quality in agrifood systems
Reliable access to safe and sufficient water is critical to food security and protecting public health. However, water systems face unprecedented pressure...
WHO strategic approach on air quality, energy access and health
WHO, as the coordinating authority on international health, supports countries in protecting public health through evidence-based policies and actions....
Mapping climate change and health indicators
This review sheds light on how countries are measuring the health impacts of climate change. It examines the indicators countries are using in their vulnerability...
This publication provides an overview of evidence and guidance on the growing challenge of workplace heat stress in the context of climate change. It highlights...