Towards a Safer World

It is common knowledge that climate change particularly affects developing countries, but its effects on health are still very hard to predict. In a joint effort to bridge this gap, the QWECI project set out to assist medical practitioners and public health decision-makers in allocating resources and implementing preventative measures ahead of disease epidemics.

This paper issued by the policy drafting committee of Beyond 2015 for Conflict, Fragility & Disaster aims to shed lights on the efforts to develop the Post-2015 Development Agenda which was started by the UN (United Nations) almost two years ago and which included as well Sudan as has been published in this page before. 
 

For a long time people perceived climate change as an environmental issue–the concern of environmentalists, the concern of a few. It was reframed as a justice issue at the turn of the 21st century, when it became clear that those most likely to suffer the consequences of climate change were primarily those who had least contributed to its cause. Africa in particular has contributed little to the climate change crisis and yet is considered to be one of the regions most vulnerable to its effects.

The European Commission lays out its primary vision on how the European Union should contribute to the global efforts to reduce the impact of disasters.

This report asserts that the more widespread integration of science into disaster risk reduction policy making will depend on science being ‘useful, useable and used’. The case studies in the report describe specific examples of scientific learning being employed to enhance disaster risk reduction, providing evidence that science is useable for disaster risk reduction. The case studies were selected from across the breadth of scientific disciplines and from all parts of the globe.

Epidemic typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted by body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis). This disease occurs where conditions are crowded and unsanitary. This disease accompanied war, famine, and poverty for centuries.

12 Dec 2013 - The European Parliament today paved the way for stronger cooperation in responding to disasters by adopting new legislation on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism set to come into force at the beginning of 2014.
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/news/v.php?id=35826&pi...

Natural resources and human well-being in a green economy
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environmental-indicator-report-2013

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is launching a new video clip competition under the theme “Promoting Investments for Resilient Nations and Communities”.

By Olga B. Jonas, The World Bank - This paper looks at pandemic risk, what it means for development, and how management of this risk could be improved, both in countries and internationally. The paper was motivated by the prevalence of pandemic myths. Widely held beliefs—that pandemics are inevitable and thus not worth worrying about, that the health sector is managing the risks, and that the pandemic risk is not a development issue—lead to underestimation of pandemic risk, scant preparedness, and inadequate prevention. Examining the reasons why these myths persist could help governments and international organizations improve management of the risks associated with pandemics.

Read more and download full paper from UN-Influenza.org website: Pandemic Risk paper for the WDR 2014