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Children’s health and the environment
Wednesday, 07 September 2011 10:17
The new Children’s Health and Environment Program (CHEP), established by the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Queensland Children’s Medical Research Institute in association with the University of Queensland, was officially launched in Brisbane in early August.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that almost a quarter of all deaths results from exposure to unhealthy environmental factors such as air and water pollution, and this figure is even higher in children, because their developing bodies are more susceptible.
Despite the obvious dangers children face from adverse environmental exposures, little is known about the environmental contribution to the burden of disease for Australian children.
CHEP aims to improve kids’ health in two areas – through advocacy and awareness around environmental issues, and through research into environmental factors at play in Queensland and their contribution to childhood illness.
Internationally renowned research Professor Peter Sly is the director of the program, and will lead Australia-first research exploring how common childhood diseases such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), asthma and obesity could be linked to household chemicals and air-borne particles.
The inaugural CHEP conference was held to mark the program’s launch, and attracted international experts including HRH Professor Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol from the Chulabhorn Research Institute in Thailand, and Professor Jonathan Grigg from the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science in the United Kingdom.
CHEP has strong links with the Public Health & Environment section of the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, and with the network of WHO Collaborating Centres in Children’s Environmental Health, as well as with other international organisations in this vital area of research.
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