Healthcare system transformation resulting from health reform cannot be overlooked by the "straight-up" population health contingent. I've encountered resistance to becoming familiar with the transformation components of the legislation.  Purists consider lack of illness the only true measure of prevention.  Anyone with a diagnosis is seen as an example of failure to prevent illness.  This position is firmly held by a colleague. Her point of view fails to take into account the fact that, due…

Continue

This blog is reposted from Climate Health Connect

 

Who's afraid of climate change? Well, I am. And not necessarily for the reasons you may think. I’m afraid that the recent, much-deserved attention to climate change will revive some of the old alarmist debates on population. And with those debates, I’m worried that the specter of population control will rear its ugly head again.

 

You…

Continue

Seven billion people are walking the earth, and for the first time in human history, more than half of us are living in cities. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all of us are living healthier lives, however. The toll of non communicable diseases (NCDs) is rising rapidly, especially among the poor cutting a devastating swath into economic productivity in many nations.

 

NCDs – primarily cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, chronic lung disease and mental illness – are…

Continue

"The Corn Refiners Association represents the corn refining (wet milling) industry and has launched a national educational campaign to provide science-based facts about high fructose corn syrup to the public"

The food refining industry is moving forward with what appears to be a well-financed and sophisticated campaign to protect the reputation of high fructose corn syrup. …

Continue

As the world’s population reaches 7 billion, the Millennium Development Goals offer a path toward a healthy and sustainable world. There is every reason to think that seven billion of us can and should live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives now, and for generations to come.  Young people alive today are a key to that future, and PHI’s Youth Leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health (GOJoven) program is making this future a reality for them, and for…

Continue

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at an event during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The event, titled Women and Agriculture: A Conversation on Improving Global Food Security, consisted of a panel of leaders from the UN, civil society, private sector, and government. In her remarks, Clinton noted that in a time when nearly 1 billion people are suffering from chronic… Continue

 

I was recently honored to participate as an observer representing the Public Health Institute (PHI) at the…

Continue

Out of the nearly 7 billion people alive today, imagine for a moment what the most powerful individual on the planet might look like. Chances are, you aren’t picturing a 12 year old school girl raising her hand to answer a question in science class. But the truth is that the world’s 700 million adolescent girls may just be the most powerful agents we have to address the urgent challenges facing our crowded planet.

On average, girls with at least seven years of schooling will marry…

Continue

A week from today, October 31, 2011, our planet will see its population hit the seven billion mark for the first time ever.



How should we look at a world of seven billion people? A challenge, indeed, as ever more people means ever more mouths to feed; minds to educate; crops to grow; and bodies to protect, heal, employ and house. At the same time, our world’s growing population represent an opportunity; an opportunity to engage our mutual energies, technologies, and intellect in… Continue

Social determinants of health are gaining attention among public health practitioners.  The challenge is determining what specific steps public health practitioners should take in light of a somewhat limited evidence base.  Whatever evidence emerges, working with a  range of sectors will be important.  During Janet Yellen's tenure as president of the  Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco,  public health and community development practitioners began a dialogue to simply understand…

Continue

This email is also available online at: http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/11583…

Continue

Lexington, KY was a named the nation's least active city.  I took  a look at the list of most active cities and Boulder, my hometown, was not listed.  So I am not sure just how reliable the list is. 

This did not stop the mayor of Lexington from embracing the new designation by riding (sitting) on a couch coverted into a low-end & low tech float that led the city's first…

Continue

As the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction works toward a mid-November deadline to make significant cuts to our federal budget, committee members need to hear from supporters of public health - both domestically and globally.  

Please take the opportunity NOW to write to committee co-chairs Senator Patty…

Continue

Africa study suggests hormonal contraceptive tie to HIV infection - BUT data is so far inconclusive.

Quandary for women: Contraceptive use vs HIV risk in Africa…

Continue