Findings brief : external review of a community of practice development project on ecohealth in Latin America and the Caribbean

This findings brief is based on the "COPEH-TLAC: Advancing Ecohealth in Latin America" evaluation study by Terri Willard and Jacobo Finkelman, November 2009The evaluation study documents strategic leadership and management functions performed during the first phase of support to the project; assesses how these processes and structures served the COPEH in Phase 1; considers how future growth may lead to adapting these functions; and determines some guidelines for the coordinating committee to put in place. Over the last four years, the Community of Practice on Ecohealth—Toxics in Latin America and the Caribbean (COPEH-TLAC) has successfully created a Community of Practice that meets members’ needs for mutual support and learning. Members pointed to a spirit of collaboration that has given space for respectful participation from both North and South

Saúde ambiental na América Latina e no Caribe: numa encruzilhada

There has been undeniable progress in addressing health, environment and sustainable development in recent decades. Yet, global gains have not been distributed equally, leaving major populations groups excluded, with negative consequences to health. We are also beginning to recognize emerging global problems with significant local impacts, mostly in impoverished populations, both in rural and urban settings. Environmental health is at the crossroads, where new models and partnerships are required. This paper explores these issues with specific reference to the Latin American and Caribbean countries.É inegável que a discussão sobre saúde, meio ambiente e desenvolvimento sustentável tem progredido muito em décadas recentes. Contudo, ganhos globais não têm sido distribuídos de maneira uniforme, deixando grandes grupos populacionais excluídos, com conseqüências negativas à saúde. Também estamos começando a reconhecer problemas globais emergentes que causam impactos locais significativos, principalmente em populações pobres, tanto em áreas rurais como urbanas. A saúde ambiental está numa encruzilhada, em que novos modelos e parcerias são necessários. Este artigo explora essas questões especificamente em relação aos países latino-americanos e caribenhos

Minutes of the LAC meeting and follow-up

Meeting: LAC Meeting, Montreal, August 13th, 2014Thirty eight colleagues from 10 countries of Latin America and Canada met during the Ecohealth 2014 Conference to exchange experiences regarding the evolution of the field of ecohealth in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries. The meeting also explored opportunities for South-South and South-North collaboration enabling continued contributions to the scientific and social capital of ecohealth in the region. The exchange helped identify some of the strengths developed over more than a decade of work, and opportunities to further develop the field of ecohealth. Participants also recognized some weaknesses and possible threats to address in the future

Environmental health in Mexico: Current situation and future prospects

Environmental health has been established in Mexico as a discipline since the early nineties resuming the sanitarian tradition developed over the past century and incorporating new knowledge generated by environmental toxicology and epidemiology. During the last decade there has been some  progress in reviewing and updating the regulations, designing programs and policies to reduce exposure to pollutants and consolidating research groups and teaching in the area. However, the most prevalent problems previously diagnosed still remain and new risks have emerged due to environmental degradation (air pollution, toxics exposure and climate change among others) have been incorporated. If this trend persists, the environmental risks will continue to increase and multiply. The environmental health governance in Mexico has to be redesigned involving a transectoral approach. Future proposals  might include: establishment of a National Environmental Health Program, update the situational diagnosis at national and regional level, strengthening teaching and graduate programs in environmental health as well as increase support for research in the area and development of an integrated environmental health surveillance system

A saúde da família sob as lentes da higiene mental Family health through the lens of mental hygiene

Procura instigar o debate sobre os determinantes sócio-históricos que condicionam a construção de políticas públicas de saúde mental aplicáveis ao contexto familiar brasileiro. As atuais políticas têm privilegiado a família como lugar estratégico de ações voltadas para a transformação social, com intervenção de vários atores, entre eles, psicólogos. Ao recuperar alguns pontos do ideário de higiene mental percebeu-se que esse discurso não é novidade na história da saúde brasileira. Embora os tempos, as famílias e os profissionais sejam outros, compreendeu-se que a busca de solução para a 'crise' da sociedade continua sendo atribuída ao indivíduo particular. A família, como expressão desse indivíduo, tem sido chamada para assumir responsabilidades que levem a sociedade na direção da 'ordem' e do 'progresso' da nação.<br>The article is meant to stimulate debate about the social and historical determinants that shape the construction of public mental health policy within the context of the Brazilian family. Current policies have emphasized the family as a strategic target of initiatives aimed at social transformation, with the intervention of different actors, including psychologists. An examination of some ideas from the field of mental hygiene suggests that this discourse is nothing new in the history of Brazilian health. While today's times, families, and professionals are different, the search for a solution to the so-called crisis of society still focuses on the individual. The family, as the expression of this individual, has been called upon to assume responsibilities that push society towards 'order' and 'progress' for the Nation