The American Journal of Public Health journal welcomes manuscript submissions for an open access supplement issue that highlights the preparedness, resilience, and recovery of communities from natural or intentional events that influence local, state, territorial or international public health. Authors may submit their articles in several formats, including epidemiological, evaluation, policy, research, and social articles, perspectives, and critical reviews, until January 14, 2019. Please visit the American Journal of Public Health website for more information about author guidelines.
WHO Releases New Report: Air Pollution and Child Health
The World Health Organization has released a new report, Air Pollution and Child Health: Prescribing Clean Air, one day prior to the start of the first WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health on October 30, 2018. This report describes the scientific evidence that demonstrates links between harmful levels of air pollution exposure and adverse health outcomes in children. Main topics include routes of exposure to air pollution, vulnerability and susceptibility of children, sources of air pollution, effects of air pollution on child health, and recommended actions for health professionals. To learn more about the effects of air pollution on children’s health, please visit the World Health Organization’s website for the infographics, video, and social media toolkit.
WHO’s First Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health: Geneva (October 30-November 1, 2018)
The first Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health will be held from October 30 to November 1, 2018, at the World Health Organization’s Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This event was organized in collaboration with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and United Nations Environment, and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Using the theme, “Improving Air Quality, Combating Climate Change – Saving Lives”, this meeting provides an opportunity for representatives from national governments, intergovernmental agencies, academic universities, research institutions, and civil society, to discuss global health challenges related to air pollution. The first two days will incorporate meetings to discuss scientific evidence about air pollution, identify challenges, and propose strategies to mitigate negative effects on human and environmental health. The third day will include meetings to facilitate discussion on achieving related Sustainable Development Goals, suggest approaches to further engage national health systems, and encourage sustainable political commitment by national governments and other stakeholders.
For more information about this conference, please visit the event website for the conference objectives, agenda, and remote participation link.
First Global Forum for Heat and Health: Hong Kong (December 17-20, 2018)
The First Global Forum for Heat and Health will be held from December 17-20, 2018, in Hong Kong. This forum is an initiative of the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), an international collaborative effort of the World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Program Office, and several academic, meteorological. and health service partners. This event will provide an international platform for scientists and other stakeholders to facilitate collaborative learning about local and global evidence-based initiatives in heat and health sciences and develop a technical agenda to highlight the GHHIN scientific priorities. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend hands-on simulations and skills-based workshops on heat communications as well as travel to local health-health project sites.
For more information about this international forum, please visit the event website for the prospectus, agenda, and registration.
New Journal On Health, Energy, and Technology Transitions that Shape the Future
The Global Transitions journal welcomes manuscript submissions that share innovative perspectives related to the cross-disciplinary areas of health (e.g., effects of environmental changes on human health), energy (e.g., effects of fossil fuels and renewable energy, transportation, security, and climate change on society), and technology (e.g., advances in emerging, engineering, and industrial technologies in society) to the global community. Understanding the role of health, energy, and technology in the global context can better inform scientists and other stakeholders in their future decision-making planning and preparation efforts. Authors may submit their articles in various formats, including original research, review articles, brief communications, case reports, perspectives, and other special topics. Article processing charges will be fully waived for manuscripts submitted prior to December 31, 2019. Please visit the Global Transitions website for more information about author guidelines.
Using Earth Observation Data to Forecast Cholera Outbreaks in Yemen
The use of Earth observation data among interdisciplinary and multi-agency teams can significantly advance our scientific knowledge of our global ecosystem and support disease preparedness and response actions in disease epidemic or humanitarian efforts. With funding by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), one research team developed a forecasting tool with 92% accuracy to predict the high-risk geographic areas for Vibrio cholerae spread and distribution across Yemen in 2017. Led by Antar Jutla (West Virginia University), Rita Colwell (University of Maryland, College Park), and Anwar Huq (University of Maryland, College Park), the research team developed their model by analyzing Earth observation data for environmental conditions that influence V. cholerae proliferation such as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments.
After the World Health Organization reported this occurrence as the world’s worst cholera outbreak, humanitarian agencies aimed to take forward steps in 2018. As such, international organizations, such as the U.K. Aid, the U.K. Met Office, and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), collaborated with these NASA-funded researchers and used the model to identify predicted cholera risk and inform decision-makers where to best allocate preparedness and support measures based on the model’s predictions.
Please visit the BBC News, Business Insider, NASA, UK Department for International Development, and West Virginia University websites to learn more about this initiative.
GEO Week 2018: Kyoto, Japan (October 29-November 2, 2018)
The GEO Week 2018 will be held from October 29 to November 2, 2018, at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto, Japan. This meeting provides an opportunity for GEO’s 105 member governments and 126 participating organizations to evaluate global initiatives in thematic areas, promote further collaborations, and advance GEO efforts. Using the theme, “Supporting a Resilient and Sustainable World”, the event will address GEO’s three priority areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The first two days of GEO Week will have meetings and side events that are open to the public, and the second two days of GEO Week will include closed meetings for official plenary delegates.
For more information, please visit the GEO Week 2018 website for the conference agenda, side events, and registration.
Blog Post: Citizens, Satellites, and the Future of Disease Monitoring
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Wilson Center collaborated to present the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission 2018 Vector-borne and Water-related Diseases Workshop, held at the Wilson Center, on May 17, 2018. This workshop showcased the use of Earth observation data to inform and predict vector-borne and water-related diseases. It also served as an educational and professional networking event, connecting Earth scientists and other practitioners and expanding the end-user community. In addition to presentations by keynote speakers, expert panelists, representing diverse specialties, formed three panels to present topics regarding “New and Emerging Research”, “Health, Data, and Complexity”, and “Citizen Science”. In efforts to disseminate the post-workshop summary, Alex Long (Wilson Center) prepared the blog post, Citizens, Satellites, and the Future of Disease Monitoring. Please visit the GPM Disease Initiative website to learn more about the agenda and view the presentation recordings.
Call for Nominations for NOAA David Johnson Award for Outstanding Innovative Use of Earth Observation Satellite Data (Deadline: September 30, 2018)
The National Space Club welcomes nominations for the NOAA David Johnson Award for Outstanding Innovative Earth Observation Satellite Data. Nominations may be submitted for professionals (age 40 or younger) who have developed a novel application of satellite data that can be used to examine and/or predict atmospheric, oceanic, or terrestrial conditions. The award nomination deadline is September 30, 2018. Please visit the award website for more information about the nomination process and previous award recipients.
Call for Papers on Spatial Perspectives in Chronic Disease Research and Practice (Deadline: August 31, 2018)
The Preventing Chronic Disease journal welcomes manuscript submissions that highlight the innovative applications of geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial tools and analyses to better inform public health practitioners and other stakeholders of chronic disease research and surveillance. Authors may submit their articles in several formats, including original research, GIS snapshots, special topics, and tools and techniques, until August 31, 2018. Please visit the Preventing Chronic Disease website for more information about author guidelines and article types.
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2018: Washington, D.C. (December 10-14, 2018)
The 2018 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting will be the first ever AGU conference at which there are sessions specifically listed for the new “GeoHealth” section. To encourage participation in these sessions, AGU has made the following two provisions:
An abstract submitted to a GeoHealth section does not count against the one abstract per lead author limit. So you can submit to a GeoHealth session and still submit another abstract to a different session.
Recognizing that many relevant GeoHealth speakers are not AGU members, AGU is waiving the membership requirement for submitting to GeoHealth sessions. This is being done in two ways: (a) through reciprocity agreements with several major professional societies, including the American Public Health Association, International Society of Exposure Science, and International Society of Environmental Epidemiology, such that their members can submit abstracts directly to the AGU Fall Meeting; and (b) by direct request from GeoHealth session Chairs on behalf of speakers submitting to their session.
Abstracts for all AGU sessions, including GeoHealth, can be submitted for oral and poster presentations until August 1, 2018. Please review the full list of GeoHealth sessions that are accepting abstracts.
For more information, please contact Ben Zaitchik, Secretary of the AGU GeoHealth Section.
11th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium: Kyoto, Japan (October 24-26, 2018)
The 11th GEOSS Asia-Pacific Symposium will be held from October 24-26, 2018, at the Kyoto Terrsa, in Kyoto, Japan. Organized by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), this meeting aims to provide an opportunity for the Asia Oceania GEOSS (AOGEOSS) community to evaluate initiatives in thematic areas, promote further collaborations, and advance GEOSS efforts. Using the theme, “Strengthening Regional Cooperation through AOGEOSS for the SDGs, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework”, the symposium will address GEO’s three priority areas, describe collaborations among Task Groups, and discuss future steps to advance these initiatives. At the symposium, the Kyoto Statement will be adopted, noting future AOGEOSS initiatives, and promoted at the GEO Week 2018 Asia Oceania Day side event.
For more information, please visit the GEOSS Asia Pacific Symposium website for the conference agenda and registration.
AmeriGEOSS Week 2018: São Paulo, Brazil (August 6-10, 2018)
The AmeriGEOSS Week 2018 will be held from August 6-10, 2018, at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), in São José dos Campos in São Paulo, Brazil. In partnership with the INPE and the Center of Marine Biology of University of São Paulo (CEBIMar), this meeting aims to provide an opportunity for the AmeriGEOSS community to evaluate overall progress, including achievements and challenges, and propose activities to meet the regional focus areas related to agriculture, biodiversity/ecosystems, disasters, and water. At this meeting, experts will also offer six workshop training sessions on the use of Earth observations at INPE (São José dos Campos) and CEBIMar (São Sebastião).
Abstracts can be submitted for oral and poster presentations until June 29, 2018.
For more information, please visit the AmeriGEOSS Week 2018 website for the conference agenda and registration.
Notes from the One Earth One Health Workshop at The Earth Observation Summit 2017
Montreal’s 375th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation made for an invigorating backdrop for the Earth Observation (EO) Summit 2017, hosted in part by the Canadian Remote Sensing Society. Over 500 scientists, professionals, and governmental and industrial leaders from over 26 countries gathered on June 20-22, 2017, to discuss EO technologies, its applications, and its societal benefits.
The CEOS Working Group on Capacity Building & Data Democracy (WGCapD) co-organized a workshop, “One Earth – One Health Workshop: Contributions of Earth Observations (EO) to Public Health Practices”, during the 2017 Summit on June 21, 2017.
The workshop opened with remarks from the Canadian Space Agency’s Eric Laliberté, and Public Health Agency Canada’s Howared Njoo, affirming the need to identify data, indicators, and technologies to improve public health outcomes with EO.
Sessions at the meeting shared opportunities and challenges for scientific endeavors and for the development of applications. Cécile Viignolles from France’s Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), shared opportunities in telehealth, to improve access to healthcare for patients in remote locations and mobile sites, and in tele-epidemiology, to connect human and animal diseases that are linked to climate and environment, using space technology.
Ramesh Krishnamurthy from the World Health Organization championed for a common global dashboard to monitor the targets of the Sustainable Development Goal #3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” He shared three elements required to ensure that the efforts to improve health are sustainable: good data, a good informatics approach, and human capacity that is multi-sectoral (involving departments of health, education, labor, finance, etc.), all working towards a “common value” goal.
All presentations from the workshop sessions can be accessed here: http://learningcenter.obt.inpe.br/doku.php?id=workshop-montreal
The workshop afternoon engaged participants in small break-out groups to conduct scenario-based problem solving in the following six themes: vulnerable human populations, mosquito-borne diseases, tick-borne diseases, microbial water contamination, air quality and chronic conditions, and pandemics. Each group was charged with identifying current and potential EO products, applications, and services to support public health efforts for their respective scenarios.
The insights and results from the small-group discussions are being complied into a white paper by Stephanie Brazeau of the Public Health Agency ofCanada, Stephanie.brazeau@phac-aspc.gc.ca, and Guy Aubé of the Canadian Space Agency, guy.aube@canada.ca.
GEO Health CoP featured on the GEO website
The blog introduces the GEO Community to the GEO Health CoP chair, Mr. John Haynes. Mr. Haynes is the Program Manager of NASA’s Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Program, and for the past 15 years, has applied his expertise in meteorology and remote sensing to address globally significant issues in aviation weather policy, public health, and environmental health.
The blog also shares GEO Health CoP’s recent events and achievements, including the group’s support for the addition of a new Community Activity to the GEO Work Programme entitled, ‘Earth Observations for Health,’ which has three focus areas: 1) weather and climate extremes; 2) water-related illnesses; and 3) vector-borne diseases.
The post, published on July 24, 2017, was authored by Dr. Shobhana Gupta, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at NASA’s Heath and Air Quality Applied Sciences Program.
Hyperlink to the blog post: http://www.earthobservations.org/geo_blog_obs.php?id=238