Welcome, New Alliance Members!
January 2024
Happy New Year!
PHA has now grown to over 400 members with additions this month of Center for the Environment, Washington University in St. Louis, Planetary Health Report Card, Maranhao State University, Healthy Energy Initiative India, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, Sustainable Beekeeping and Human Development, Public Health Foundation of India, International Transformational Resilience Coalition, and BC Cancer Planetary Health Unit.
Center for the Environment, Washington University in St. Louis: Research on Planetary Health advanced by the Center for the Environment is guided by its definition as “global environmental change and its health impacts” provided by the Planetary Health Alliance, a consortium of more than 400 research and practice institutions. The theme will be broadened at Washington University in St. Louis to reflect reciprocity in the human health-environment relationship. Themes of research advanced by the Center for the Environment include environmental health, global health, sustainable urban design, sustainable healthy food systems, nourishing biomes, and the connection between environmental change and infectious disease. Research advances benefit from a convergent approach that draws on expertise from public health, engineering, ecology, natural and social sciences, and architecture and urban design.
Planetary Health Report Card: The Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC), established in 2019, is a student-led initiative evaluating planetary health content in health professional schools globally. Through a metric-based approach, PHRC engages student teams to assess institutions, foster improvements, and track progress, publishing results annually on Earth Day. Expanding rapidly, PHRC has evaluated 100+ health professional schools across 15 nations. Collaborating with Planetary Health and sustainability experts, PHRC aims to inspire engagement in Planetary Health education and sustainable healthcare, fostering a healthier future for both patients and the planet.
Maranhao State University: They are excited to join the PHA. They will strengthen the University’s sustainability actions and Agenda 2030 support by engaging their work, studies, or community in PHA initiatives and other Planetary Health efforts. The University wants to improve their participation in the growing community of Planetary Health. Overall, they desire to act as changemakers toward a healthier future.
Healthy Energy Initiative India, A program of The Other Media: Healthy Energy Initiative India is a program of The Other Media in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm. HEI India works in the area of Climate and Health by mobilizing communities and health professionals to advocate for environmental health, clean air, and clean energy. Their work focuses on providing legal, media, and scientific research support to the residents of polluted communities and workers exposed to toxic chemicals. By working closely with the health departments of the sub-national regions of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh, they focus on developing climate and environmental health policies and building health systems resilient to climate change, health research, and action on air pollution. Planetary Health Alliance provides them with a wider opportunity to take their work to a global platform and help amplify the deep interconnections between the health of the people and the planet.
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs: Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs is the world’s largest environmental youth program for the creative arts. They work to empower youth to connect, create, and communicate for our blue planet. Bow Seat strives to build community among youth, enhance resiliency, raise awareness, and offer opportunities to take action on environmental issues through their annual Ocean Awareness Contest, Future Blue Youth Council, and Fellowship Grant Program. They are particularly focused on addressing the rising rates of grief and eco-anxiety among youth due to our rapidly changing planet. Participants in our programs have reported feeling inspired, empowered, hopeful, and empathetic. As an organization that reaches more than 33,000 youth from 140+ countries, Bow Seat invests in the next wave of environmental leaders who will think and act like artists — looking at issues from new perspectives, posing meaningful questions, and discovering innovative solutions. They look forward to partnering with other youth-focused organizations in the Planetary Health Alliance.
Sustainable Beekeeping and Human Development (SuBeHuDe): The inception of SuBeHuDe in 2015 is based on promoting the achievement of UN key areas for sustainability (Social, Economic, and Environmental Development- SEED) of the present and future generations which is aligned with the Planetary Health Alliance’s work. SuBeHuDe aims to collaborate with the Planetary Health community on training on sustainable beekeeping and value chain development, regenerative agriculture, social enterprises & social entrepreneurship development, environmental and biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, access to inclusive quality education, basic healthcare, clean and safe water, community capacity building, and personal development empowering with the tools to break the cycle of poverty.
Public Health Foundation of India: The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) aims to strengthen training, research, and policy development in the area of public health. They look forward to advancing the research, capacity building, and advocacy in environmental and Planetary Health.
International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC): The ITRC is committed to building population-level mental wellness and transformational resilience for the global climate emergency by engaging communities worldwide in using a public health approach to mental health. Because co-morbidity is very common, preventing and healing mental health and psychosocial problems in this way will also prevent and heal many physical health issues. They want to help organizations worldwide learn how to organize and facilitate Resilience Coordinating Networks to prevent and heal climate change-generated and other social, psychological, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual issues generated by the climate emergency
BC Cancer Planetary Health Unit: The BC Cancer Planetary Health Unit is a clinician-led initiative aiming to promote low-waste, low-carbon healthcare solutions across all disciplines in outpatient and inpatient settings. They aim to educate healthcare providers about the ecological impact of the healthcare sector and the dependence of population health on planetary health. They hope to inspire and engage clinicians in transitioning to sustainable professional practices, particularly in areas of waste, food systems, and transportation.
