In the News
New Delhi—March 28th, 2008
The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation Co-Hosts PHFI’s Foundation Day Lecture 2008
“Environmental changes will cast an increasingly long shadow over future population health unless we effectively communicate these health risks and help society shape a sustainable way of living.” Prof Anthony J McMichael
As part of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation Climate Change Series, the Foundation co-hosted the 2008 Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) Foundation Day Lecture. Titled Environment, Climate and Health: An Expanded Public Health Research and Policy Agenda for the 21st Century, the lecture was delivered by Prof Anthony J McMichael, NHMRC Australia Fellow, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra. The first lecture in the climate change series was delivered by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the India launch of the ‘Breaking The Climate Deadlock’ initiative.
The PHFI Foundation Day Lecture each year focuses on a public health area of great national and global importance, to be delivered by a distinguished leader in the field. During the period 1993–2007, Prof Antony McMichael played a central role in the scientific work of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment of health impacts.
Expressing his concern, Prof McMichael said, “The agenda for public health research and policy engagement is of prime importance to all of us, especially with the expansion of human numbers and economic activity which is disrupting the natural environment, built environment, and patterns of human interaction on an unprecedented scale. Environmental changes will cast an increasingly long shadow over future population health unless we effectively communicate these health risks & help society shape a sustainable way of living.”
“This year’s lecture seeks to focus on the challenges posed by global climate change for public health. In recognition of the worldwide concern emerging over climate change we at the PHFI are keen to highlight the strong linkages that exist between climate change and human health.” Prof K Srinath Reddy, President, PHFI
Climate changes and health are inextricably linked. Climate conditions affect human well-being both directly, through the physical effects of climatic extremes, and, indirectly through influences on the levels of pollution in the air, on the agriculture, marine and freshwater systems that provide food and water and on the vectors that cause infectious diseases such as Malaria, Dengue, Kala Azar and Filaria.
PHFI also presented an award for outstanding contributions to the field by an Indian public health scientist or practitioner. This year, PHFI felicitated Professor Kalpana Balakrishnan, Head, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai.
Shri Naresh Dayal, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India was the Chief Guest of Honour at the lecture.
About Our Partner
The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is a response to redress the limited institutional capacity in India for strengthening training, research and policy development in the area of Public Health. It is a public private partnership that was collaboratively evolved through consultations with multiple constituencies.
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