While we are appropriately concerned about the impact of record-breaking temperatures on people, too often we ignore the extensive casualties of heat on the world’s animal and plant populations.
Zoonotic diseases. Climate change. Food and water safety. Antibiotic resistance. What ties these topics together? One Health is a crucial tool for early disease surveillance, according to a Medscape article. The majority of infectious
On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency, citing more than 16,000 cases worldwide and primarily in men who have sex with men.
World Health Organization (WHO) official Dr. Hans Kluge recently called for urgent action to control fast-increasing cases of monkeypox, adding that it posed a real risk to public health.
April 22 is Earth Day. WiRED International board members, staff and volunteers wish everyone a meaningful Earth Day. Ever since the first Earth Day in 1970, each year Earth Day voices our global environmental consciousness, calls the world to action
Air pollution. We have been living with it ever since we began burning fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, cause temperatures to rise and produce chemicals and particles in the air that can harm the health of humans, animals and plants. A pivotal part to stopping climate change is reducing air pollution.
The COVID-19 pandemic cruelly demonstrates the vulnerability of human life and how our actions can impact the health of others. Earth Day gives us the opportunity to think about how the health of people and animals is closely linked with the changing climate and intensifying environmental conditions.
Exactly how do climate change and the environment relate to our health?
At the start of each year since 1999, we have released the plans that guide WiRED International’s efforts for the next 12 months. Last year our objective was to launch a major new community health worker (CHW) training program. After COVID-19 struck, we had to make a number of mid-course corrections to stay on track. By the end of 2020, though, we met our goals to test the CHW training program in four countries. That success was due to the flexibility of a small and nimble organization, good working relationships with partners abroad and, admittedly, a bit of luck.
WiRED International’s goal is to provide free medical and health information materials and training to low-resource communities around the world. We place all our work within the context of One Health principles — that all life on our planet is interconnected. While COVID-19 is drawing everyone’s attention, conditions leading to climate change are increasing as the federal administration is rolling back nearly 100 environmental and land use regulations in our own country. In this article, WiRED board member, Dr. Elizabeth Fine, reviews a recent film that addresses how the loosening of environmental protection laws in the United States impacts our health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down. People are isolated at home with time on their hands. Anxiety levels are high.
One way to cope is to adopt or to foster an animal. Shelters and rescue organizations report record numbers of applications, and some places are empty of animals for the first time ever.