WiRED International

We at WiRED International observe Earth Day this year with heightened concern. As WiRED’s health education work focuses increasingly on the One Health perspective — the interaction among human, animal and environmental health — we become ever more watchful of policies that impact air, land and water, because they, in turn, affect human health.

Cancer can strike anyone, but today 70% of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries without adequate medical and economic resources. So far the global health community does not offer a focused action plan to combat cancer as it does for infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics lead to antibiotic resistance (AR). WiRED International cautions that without urgent attention and action, many modern medicines could become obsolete, turning even common infections into deadly threats.

WiRED International observes the 70th anniversary of World Health Day on April 7, the day on which the World Health Organization urges everyone to learn about and support accessible universal health care.

Opening up access to its materials for millions more people, WiRED International just took a major technological leap forward. Its innovative Health Module Access Program (HealthMAP) can now deliver free health education training material to underserved communities in the world’s most distant locations, many of which exist offline.

The media are awash with pointers about how to live a healthy life: eat well, exercise, don’t smoke, watch how much alcohol you drink. A recitation of heath tips becomes a mantra that we know so well . . . and tend to ignore. But if these pointers help you feel better, look better and avoid some diseases, maybe it’s worth giving a few of them a try.

Mark your calendars for two important health observances this week. Thursday, March 22, is World Water Day, and Saturday, March 24, is World TB (tuberculosis) Day.

Birth defects affect millions of families worldwide every year. About one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect caused by genetics or by maternal exposure to environmental agents.

Brazilian health workers are racing to vaccinate urban populations against the yellow fever virus in order to prevent a pandemic in its largest cities. In previous years, yellow fever has been confined to forest areas of the Amazon basin; if it spreads into city slums, the consequences to public health could be catastrophic.