A global warning on bird flu, wide-ranging updates from First Nations health leaders, federal budget advocacy, and a road map for tackling air pollution are among the topics covered this week.
As the Australian Government is urged to endorse a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, France is reportedly planning for a catastrophic four degree increase in temperatures by the end of this century.
The column – which is back after a brief hiatus – also brings recommended viewing on long COVID, stories of swimming, news of a Minister for Preventative Health, rural health news, and details of upcoming events that may be of interest.
The quotable?
Excessive inequality erodes social cohesion, reducing empathy and undermining community bonds. When wealth is concentrated among a few, society becomes fragmented. Our sense of collective responsibility diminishes, and the fabric that binds us as Australians weakens.”
Spotlight – bird flu
The rapid spread of the highly infectious avian flu virus H5N1 has reached an “unprecedented” scale, wiping out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide and increasingly spilling over into mammals, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned this week.
At a briefing for member states, FAO officials called for urgent action to strengthen biosecurity, surveillance and rapid-response mechanisms to curb the outbreak.
FAO Deputy Director-General Godfrey Magwenzi stressed that the crisis threatens to have “serious impacts on food security and food supply in countries, including loss of valuable nutrition, rural jobs and income, shocks to local economies, and of course increasing costs to consumers”, UN News reported.
With millions relying on poultry for meat and eggs, the challenge was not only to contain the virus but also to protect food production systems and biodiversity, with at least 300 new wild bird species affected since 2021.
FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) have launched a ten-year Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza, which updates a 2008 document.
Meanwhile, scientists are alarmed by a suggestion by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to allow the virus to spread, so as to identify birds that may be immune.
They said such an experiment would be inhumane, dangerous, disastrous, and have enormous economic consequences, reported The New York Times (18 March).
Spotlight – Western Australia
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook has been lauded for his Cabinet, which includes new portfolios of Health Infrastructure, Preventative Health, and Aged Care and Seniors.
Each region will also have a dedicated Minister, whose primary responsibility “will be to ensure regional communities have access to local job opportunities, as well as the services and infrastructure they need”.
Maybe we need more Health Ministers to become Premiers or Prime Ministers?
Cook was WA’s Health Minister from 2017-2021.
Climate matters
Australia should endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT) as an act of public health, according to academics writing in The Medical Journal of Australia.
The FFNPT is a proposed international agreement to stop the global expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and equitably phase out existing fossil fuel infrastructure, complementing the Paris Agreement.
It is currently supported by 16 nation states (including 11 Pacific Island countries) and endorsed by more than 300 health institutions, including the World Health Organization.
The authors note that the Australian Government does not currently support the FFNPT, “which is likely influenced by Australia’s position as one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas”.
The ten largest pharmaceutical companies in Australia are moving towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions at different rates, according to a study published in The Medical Journal of Australia.
The researchers analysed publicly available company reports published during 12 December 2015 – 31 December 2023, and identified three groups of companies, ranging from those doing well to those doing little.
The first group – companies leading emissions reduction efforts – included AstraZeneca, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and Merck & Co.
The group without public commitments to achieving net zero emissions, minimal or no approved targets, and minimal disclosure or monitoring of emissions included Viatris, Vertex, and Arrotex.
“Gaps in standardised reporting processes should be closed, and further qualitative research on industry-wide environmental sustainability policy and practice is needed,” said the researchers.
“Our findings can assist policy makers and clinicians make informed decisions about low carbon suppliers of medicines and support emissions reduction efforts by pharmaceutical corporations.”
Global health
Ahead of a global conference on the health impacts of air pollution, health professionals are calling for governments to protect their populations from the harmful impacts of polluted air – and have provided a roadmap for health ministries to achieve this.
The recommendations come in a new publication, Clean Air, Healthy Lives: A Policy Roadmap for Health Systems to Tackle Air Pollution, by the Global Climate and Health Alliance ahead of the World Health Organization’s Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, which takes place from 24-28 March in Cartagena, Colombia.
https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r487.full 
https://cities-today.com/glasgow-to-trial-free-public-transport/
#AusPol
Addressing the Catholic Social Services Australia Conference this week, Dr Andrew Leigh argued that the Albanese Government’s policies across many areas were addressing the growth in inequality seen in Australia since the 1980s.
Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Assistant Minister for Employment, said the top one percent of income earners in Australia today received nearly 10 percent of national income, nearly doubling their share from 40 years ago.
“Wealth inequality is even more extreme, with the richest fifth owning more than 60 times the wealth of the bottom fifth,” he said.
“This widening gap is not just economic – it profoundly affects people’s everyday lives. Those at the bottom face greater health challenges, including a stark difference in life expectancy – Australians in the richest fifth of the population live an average of six years longer than those in the poorest fifth.
“The poorest Australians have seven fewer teeth on average due to poor dental care. In education, the wealth gap translates into substantial resource disparities between affluent and poorer communities.”
Leigh said that inequality does not simply represent a difference in wealth but shapes our society.
“Excessive inequality erodes social cohesion, reducing empathy and undermining community bonds,” he said.
“When wealth is concentrated among a few, society becomes fragmented. Our sense of collective responsibility diminishes, and the fabric that binds us as Australians weakens.
“Inequality is a profound challenge – but not insurmountable. Australian history reminds us that inequality is never inevitable. It expands or shrinks based on the decisions we make collectively as a society.”
Let’s see what next week’s budget brings…
First Nations health updates
Public health
Rural health
Upcoming events
