South Africa | Environment Minister upholds that power company must comply with air pollution regulations

South Africa | Environment Minister upholds that power company must comply with air pollution regulations
Post Date May 18, 2020
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Photo: © Mujahid Safodien-Greenpeace

Health Care Without Harm’s partner in South Africa, groundWork, as part of a coalition of community and civil society organizations, achieved an incremental victory for public health in the highly polluted Mpumalanga Highveld region when South Africa’s Environment Minister rejected the public power company Eskom’s objection to complying with air pollution regulations and upheld the enforcement action against the utility’s Kendal power station.

In her decision, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy stated that she is “mindful of the fact that failure to …

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India | Air Pollution Chokes Chennai – Doctors For Clean Air Urge City’s Inclusion in National Clean Air Programme

India | Air Pollution Chokes Chennai – Doctors For Clean Air Urge City’s Inclusion in National Clean Air Programme
Post Date November 10, 2019
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Air quality in all 15 locations sampled from across the city between May and July 2019 was unhealthy, with levels of PM 2.5 in the worst affected areas nearly three times the national standard of 60 ug/m3, according to a study released by Healthy Energy Initiative and Doctors for Clean Air-Tamil Nadu. The widespread nature of pollution and the fact that the samples were taken in summer highlights how the current pollution crisis is neither an isolated nor a seasonal incident. The study analysed 24-hour …

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South Africa | Health sector must join debate on climate change

South Africa | Health sector must join debate on climate change
Post Date October 15, 2019
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It must amplify message after reports that global air pollution is behind many deaths

Op-ed by Rico Euripidou, groundWork, Healthy Energy Initiative partner in South Africa, published in The Mercury, October 14, 2019

The time is now for the health sector to join the environmental and climate debate!

A report has confirmed that the health impacts of coal-fired power plants in South Africa create a substantial burden on human health, leading to 2 239 equivalent attributable deaths annually. | African News Agency

For community people air pollution has since the …

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India | Health assessments mandatory for new thermal plants

Post Date November 20, 2018
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The inclusion by the Union environment ministry of mandatory baseline health assessments and periodic health monitoring as a standard condition for all Environmental Clearances for Thermal Power Plants is a welcome first step, according to Healthy Energy Initiative, a coalition of health sector professionals, environmental groups and community organisations advocating for health-based choice of energy sources.

Health — the most important criteria of well-being — has been noticeably absent from EIA processes in India. The inclusion of health assessments is an indication that the concept of …

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Philippines | Health Department & Frontline Communities Gather to Discuss Revival of Health Impact Assessment

Philippines | Health Department & Frontline Communities Gather to Discuss Revival of Health Impact Assessment
Post Date September 10, 2018
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Frontline communities from various mining, coal and waste districts in the Philippines gathered last Friday to meet with Department of Health (DOH) in an aim to revive the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in light of the influx of environmentally-critical projects in the country.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), HIA is a means for determining the potential and lived health impacts of (1) public policies and (2) development projects in a wide array of sectors. It uses qualitative, quantitative and/or participatory techniques that can provide evidence-based …

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India | Doctors urge Environment Minister to strengthen health action in proposed National Clean Air Program

Post Date May 17, 2018
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National Clean Air Program: Need more than just research, say experts
At least 25 public health professionals from leading institutes have written to the Environment Ministry.

Source: Shweta Narayan of Health Energy Initiative – India, as published in The News Minute. The story has been picked up by a wire service and syndicated to news outlets around the country. See one such article in Business Standard.

As the last date for submitting comments on the draft National Clean Air Program (NCAP) by Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) …

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India | Op-ed: Public health in times of environmental pollution

India | Op-ed: Public health in times of environmental pollution
Post Date May 11, 2018
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The draft National Clean Air Programme has lofty goals, but falls short on three key counts

Source: Bhargav Krishna and Dr. K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India, excerpted from the Hindu Business Line. 

The World Health Organization recently released its updated Ambient Air Pollution database, noting that over 90 per cent of the global population lives in areas with poor air quality. Unsurprisingly, India figures prominently on the list with 14 of the top 15 cities showing the highest levels of annual average PM2.5 (particulates …

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South Korea | Health Advocates and Policymakers Convene at Launch of Healthy Energy Initiative

South Korea | Health Advocates and Policymakers Convene at Launch of Healthy Energy Initiative
Post Date April 7, 2018
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SEOUL — A diverse group of health leaders, policymakers, and civil society advocates convened at the National Assembly Building on April 5, 2018, to discuss the health impacts of energy choices and commit to the transition from fossil fuels to healthy, renewable energy at the official launch of the Healthy Energy Initiative Korea.

The half-day forum was convened by partners of the Healthy Energy Initiative Korea, including Yonsei University College of Medicine, the Korea Green Hospitals Society, Ecomom Korea, the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), …

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UK | Coal Phase-Out is a Public Health Victory Says Health Leaders

UK | Coal Phase-Out is a Public Health Victory Says Health Leaders
Post Date September 18, 2017
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The UK Government’s announcement that coal power plants will be phased-out by 2025 has been warmly welcomed by health leaders as a victory for public health. The decision, which followed a Government-led consultation in which the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change actively participated, will help to both reduce air pollution and carbon emissions. Read more.

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Global | Report quantifies cost of fossil fuel subsidies on human health

Global | Report quantifies cost of fossil fuel subsidies on human health
Post Date July 27, 2017
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“World governments make citizens pay billions to destroy their own health”

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the Healthy Energy Initiative partner in Europe, has launched the report Hidden Price Tags: How ending fossil fuel subsidies would benefit our health providing the first-ever comparison of fossil fuel subsidies and the costs to health associated with air pollution from fossil fuels.

HEAL found that the health costs associated with fossil fuels are over six times higher than fossil fuel subsidies. The report also spotlights how fossil fuel …

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