Environment and Health

Environment and Health

• Local environment, impacted by development processes, affects health
• Ideal environment: clean air and water, fertile land for food production, energy and material inputs, disaster-resilient infrastructure, and ample recreational spaces
• Stressors: pollution, noise, hazardous chemicals, unsafe drinking water, and climate change-linked disasters

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

• Recognizes the right to a safe, clean, and sustainable environment (2012)

Health and Development

• Development processes and issues affect health
• Transformative social policies promote health and well-being
• Public policy is a determinant of health
• Well-designed social policies can support the management of structural transformations in ways that enhance welfare, share benefits, and create access to essential goods and services for all

The Right to Health

• Enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966)
• ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012) recognizes the right to the highest attainable standard of physical, mental, and reproductive health
• The Constitution of the Philippines (1987) protects and promotes the right to health of the people

Social Determinants of Health

• Non-medical factors that influence health outcomes
• Conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age
• Examples: economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems

ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda

• Mission: promote a healthy and caring ASEAN Community, where people achieve maximal health potential through healthy lifestyle, universal access to quality healthcare, and financial risk protection

Health and Economic Development

• Human development index (HDI) measures well-being, focusing on life expectancy, education, and gross national income per capita
• Poverty remains a significant development issue in ASEAN, affecting health through lack of economic resources and limited access to healthcare
• Globalization processes change the nature of health, with increased access to medical goods and services, technological progress, and globalized health risks

Health Indicators

• Incidence rate of tuberculosis in ASEAN: 236 cases per 100,000 population (2018)
• Incidence of malaria: generally low, at about 0.5 per 1,000 population (2016-2018)
• Death rates due to road traffic injuries: 13.7 deaths per 100,000 population (2018)
• Tobacco use: 25.4% of population 15 years old and over in ASEAN (2016)
• Maternal mortality ratio: 235 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (2016)
• Births attended by skilled health personnel: 83.3% of births in ASEAN (2018)
• Under-5 mortality rate: about 30 out of 1,000 children (2016-2018)
• Neonatal mortality rate: about 15 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births (2018)
• Adolescent births: 37.6 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 years in ASEAN (2016)

This quiz explores the impact of local environment on health, including the effects of development processes like rapid urbanization, and the importance of clean air and water, fertile land, and disaster resilient infrastructures.