Global and local climate health initiatives are profiled in this week’s column; it is mystifying that the new Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan – a comprehensive and smartly produced document – doesn’t mention the urgency of phasing out fossil fuels.
We also bring news on global food systems, the lucrative business of being anti-vax, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health updates, Conference Watch, and details of upcoming events not to miss.
In publishing tributes to the late Professor Gemma Carey, we acknowledge her contributions for Croakey readers over many years.
The quotable?
The News Corp media are utterly compromised.”
Climate initiatives, from global to local
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new publication, Safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities: an overview.
It is aimed at healthcare facility managers, health practitioners and national authorities, such as ministries of health, water, infrastructure, energy and environment, and other global, national and subnational actors working on and with health care facilities.
The guide provides an overview and definitions of safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities, lists concrete guidance about actions that can be taken to achieve them, and points to key materials, resources and tools that provide more detailed guidance and actions.
Frontline clinics across the United States say climate change is disrupting care
Meanwhile, the Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan is out.
It is notable that this otherwise comprehensive publication of some 137 pages does not mention the critical importance of phasing out fossil fuels to help address the increasing risks of extreme heat.
It could, for example, have drawn upon remarks by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres earlier this year: “Extreme heat is increasingly tearing through economies, widening inequalities, undermining the Sustainable Development Goals and killing people. Heat is estimated to kill almost half a million people a year, that’s about 30 times more than tropical cyclones. We know what is driving it: fossil fuel-charged, human-induced climate change….Countries must phase-out fossil fuels – fast and fairly. They must end new coal projects…”
Global health
Salon: “Moral failure:” Plastic treaty talks collapse, posing a major setback in fight against pollution
Health Policy Watch: World Needs Urgent Course Correction for How We Grow Food
Obesity Reviews: Using a systems thinking approach to map the global rise of ultra-processed foods in population diets
These researchers developed a causal loop diagram of the global ultra-processed foods (UPF) system, which comprises nine reinforcing loops: the commodification of diets; increasing market concentration; increasing UPF levels in food retail environments; the financialisation of diets; direct corporate political influence; increasing capture of science, public opinion, and policy narratives; shifts from private to public food governance; state accommodation of corporate power; and an “agricultural regime” promoting the production of relatively cheap UPF inputs.
“This study suggests the need for innovative and expansive government policies to protect and promote healthy, sustainable diets and coordinated advocacy efforts among those seeking to challenge the exploitative aspects of corporate food systems,” they say.
Stat: RFK Jr. was paid six figures by his vaccine-challenging group before presidential run
Stat reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made over $20,000 per week as chairman of Children’s Health Defense before stepping away from the nonprofit in 2023 to run for president, new tax filings show.
#AusPol
The Conversation: The government’s response to the royal commission into veteran suicide gets a lot right – but makes a couple of missteps
Truth Telling: Queensland’s unparalleled, cold-blooded cruelty
First Nations Peoples’ health and wellbeing
Conference Watch
Media matters
The ABC article is here, and the Citigroup report is here.
Vale Professor Gemma Carey
The Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) issued this statement following the sudden death of academic and author Professor Gemma Carey last month:
“It is with profound sadness that the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) acknowledges the passing of Professor Gemma Carey.
Gemma was a highly respected public health leader, an insightful scholar, and a cherished friend to many in the health promotion community. She delivered our prestigious Dr. Eberhard Wenzel Oration alongside Professor Graham Brown in 2020, leaving a lasting impression with her eloquence, vision, and unwavering commitment to health equity. Gemma was also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia.
Gemma’s unexpected passing has left a deep void in the public health and social impact sectors. As Research Director at the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) UNSW, Gemma led a multidisciplinary team dedicated to addressing systemic inequality. Her work focused on transforming structures and processes that perpetuate disadvantage, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Gemma’s academic contributions were immense. She authored four books and over 100 journal articles addressing critical issues such as systems change, joined-up government approaches, social service markets, health policy, and public health. Her expertise was widely sought after and greatly respected.
Gemma’s life and work were deeply shaped by her personal experiences and commitment to equity. Coming from a family that overcame generational barriers to education and living with physical disability since her 30s, she believed that creating equitable living conditions and opportunities was a fundamental responsibility of communities and governments.
Gemma was not only a colleague but also a source of support, mentorship, and friendship to many within our community.
Professor Gemma Carey’s legacy will endure through her scholarly work, her advocacy, and the countless lives she touched. AHPA extends our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.
Gemma, you will be deeply missed but never forgotten.”
Allen & Unwin, which published Carey’s memoir, No Matter Our Wreckage, issued this statement:
“All who worked with Gemma Carey at Allen & Unwin have been deeply shocked and saddened by the news of her death.
Gemma’s highly personal and moving memoir No Matter Our Wreckage, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2020 and grappled with grooming, the intricacies of consent and the intergenerational impact of trauma.
An author and researcher, her writing appeared in the Guardian, Meanjin, Under The Gumtree, and the Canberra Times amongst other outlets.
Gemma’s voice was brave and bold and unflinching.
Allen & Unwin extend their sympathies to her family who survive her.”
Below are some articles authored or co-authored by Professor Gemma Carey for Croakey readers:
- Public health advocates urged to join the fray in welfare reform debates (2013)
- Social determinants of health: building bridges between sectors and tackling racism (2014)
- How is the NDIS re-shaping the disability sector? A call-out from researchers (2016)
- From the frontlines: public health and a suffocating city (2020)
- Urgent calls for action to protect people with a disability during coronavirus pandemic (2020)
Upcoming events
