Posts Tagged ‘Climate and Environmental Health’
Cara V. James Interviewed on TED Health Podcast: Advancing Public Health
Grantmakers In Health President and CEO Cara V. James was interviewed by Shoshana Ungerleider on the September 21, 2022 episode of the TED Health podcast about challenges faced by the U.S. public health system.
Read MoreCentering Racial Justice to Address Climate Change: Learning What it Takes
In 2018, the Kresge Foundation launched the Climate Change, Health, and Equity (CCHE) initiative as a 5-year, $22 million commitment to accelerate action on climate change and climate-related inequities in health. Since its inception, the CCHE network has worked in distinct, yet aligned strategies that focus on health institutions, practitioner and professional societies, and community-based organizations. The priority was to bring together diverse grant-funded partners at different points along their equity journey, with initiative partners providing evaluation, technical assistance, and support to sustain the network.
Read MoreChildren’s Environmental Health Day: Actions Needed Now to Protect Our Children’s Health
It has been over a decade since the World Health Organization raised the alarm that chronic diseases—including cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome—are rapidly becoming an epidemic in developed nations, and increasingly, in developing nations. Escalating rates of neurocognitive, metabolic, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases cannot be solely attributed to lifestyle, genetics, and nutrition. Prenatal, early life, and ongoing exposures, along with bio-accumulative toxicants, are playing a large role in the increased incidence of chronic disease. In fact, we need only look at the statistics to see that chronic disease rates in children are on the rise, and this can often be linked to toxic exposures.
Read MoreReducing Pollution: Critical Pathway for Cancer Prevention
Health professionals and health advocacy groups are learning how they can elevate environmental chemicals as an important element of cancer prevention, including in research design, clinical practice, policy advocacy, and in cancer initiatives such as the Beau Biden Moonshot and states’ 5-year cancer prevention and control plans. When health leaders are given the opportunity to examine barriers to cancer prevention, including those they may contribute to, they gain confidence in their ability—and responsibility—to use their power as trusted messengers to call for dramatic reductions in carcinogens.
Read MoreFunder Toolkit on Climate, Health, and Equity
To help health funders meet this critical moment, GIH partnered with seven philanthropy support organizations to develop a funder toolkit on climate, health, and equity. The toolkit offers an overview of the current funding landscape, hubs of collaboration, and resources available by issue focus, geographical region, and impacted populations.
Read MoreClimate Change, Health, and Equity: Action Steps for Health Philanthropy
Climate change is one of the biggest health and equity issues of our time. The scale of climate change can be daunting, and some may think of the issue as the sole responsibility of federal, state, local, and tribal governments—however, philanthropy has an essential role to play.
Read MoreThe Air That We Breathe
We and many colleagues believe that, in order to strengthen responses to the pressing crises we face, we must consider some converging determinants of health—racism, climate change, and COVID-19—together. Doing so is essential, not just for crisis management, but also for building resilient systems and infrastructure that enable everyone, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, to breathe.
Read MoreThe Urgent Need for Nature During and After COVID-19
Mounting research, combined with our personal and professional experience, suggest that improving equity in access to greenspace may help combat health inequities. Access to safe, nearby nature must be prioritized as critical public health infrastructure and not just an amenity for a few.
Read MoreClimate Change, Health, and Equity Survey Findings: Gaps, Needs, and Opportunities
This report summarizes the findings of a fall 2019 survey on the landscape of climate change, health, and equity funding and organizational work. The survey’s purpose is to add to the understanding of the resource gaps, needs, and opportunities in this critical and expanding field.
Read MoreProductive Partnerships
Twenty years ago, a small group of grantmakers launched a Health and Environmental Funders Network (HEFN), seeking to bridge health and environmental philanthropy and to focus more attention on links between human, wildlife, and ecosystem health. One of my first tasks as HEFN’s first staffer was to try to engage health funders in this enterprise.
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