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The Bureau for Global Health (GH) is excited to welcome Michaela Pfeiffer, Technical Officer, Public Health and Environment at World Health Organization (WHO), to speak on October 30, 2017. She will present on the health, and other, benefits of designing health programs in an environmentally-responsible way to help reduce the nearly 13 million deaths each year from environmentally-related diseases that are largely preventable. This is almost 25 percent of all annual deaths worldwide.

Interventions to ensure adequate and safe drinking water and sanitation, promote health and safety at work, ensure air quality in cities and in homes, and prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals and waste can significantly reduce this burden. The greatest number of lives saved would be in low- and middle-income countries, primarily among women and children.

While health interventions have an explicit goal to promote and protect human health and well-being, the delivery of health care activities can leave a legacy of waste, pollution, and chemical hazards. If left unaddressed, these unintended environmental risk factors can inadvertently undermine the health and well-being of populations those health interventions were originally intended to serve.

An ”environmentally-responsible” approach to health service delivery creates win-win benefits in terms of safer, more efficient health services and fewer risks to health care workers, patients, and the community. Such measures can also demonstrate the health sector’s leadership commitment to “walk the talk” with respect to sustainable development.

Speakers:

• Amanda Quintana, GH Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (Introduction)
• Michaela Pfeiffer, WHO Department of Public Health and Environment

Discussion Details:

Date: October 30, 2017
Time: 11:30am to 12:30pm EDT
Location: CP3, Room 805
Remote Access:

• USA Toll-Free: +1 (888) 330-1716
• INTL Caller Paid: +1 (713) 353-7024

Access Code: 9593008
Webinar Link: https://ac.usaid.gov/ghenvironment/