ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ACROSS THE GLOBE
How an Australian Centre for Disease Control Can Reinforce Environmental Health Systems and Services
Benjamin J. Ryan, MPH, PhD, REHS Baylor University
James Williams, MPH, FEH Disaster Speak
clude air pollution, food safety, water qual- ity, waste management, sanitation, infection control, animal and pest management, oc- cupational health, hazardous materials (e.g., asbestos, lead), risk assessment, and educa- tion (Environmental Health Australia, n.d.). The majority of environmental health pro- fessionals in Australia are employed in lo- cal governments (Whiley et al., 2019). More broadly, the profession works across disci- plines to ensure the safety of essential public health services. The management of environmental health risks in Australia over recent decades has been distributed across government and many nonhealth agencies (Dwyer, 2022). This distribution has included shifting the management of risks to town planning, water management, and occupational health, and public health issues becoming dominated by clinical perspectives (Dwyer, 2022; Whiley et al., 2019). For example, strongyloidiasis, an issue primarily in Indigenous Australian communities, is largely due to failing waste- water systems, inadequate waste collection and disposal, overcrowding in houses, and inadequate veterinary care; however, these risks are often overlooked in favor of clini- cal treatment with ivermectin (Hays et al., 2017; Whiley et al., 2019). The success of this treatment has reduced environmental health advocacy without preventing reinfec- tion, which demonstrates that clinical in- tervention alone cannot solve public health challenges (Ross et al., 2017; Taylor et al., 2014; Whiley et al., 2019). There is an urgent need to reinforce envi- ronmental health at a national policy level
Editor’s Note: We are familiar with the phrase, “Environmental health is extremely local.” While environmental health aects most of us on the local level, we also understand that environmental health is universal and does not know borders. The location, geography, people, and conditions can dier but the science and principles of environmental health do not. In this new column, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) will present environmental health issues and topics from a global perspective. Understanding environmental health on a global scale can help us recognize how that influences our local spheres and provides learning opportunities to broaden our perspectives. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or ocial position of NEHA. Dr. Benjamin Ryan is a clinical associate professor at Baylor University and the past-president of the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs. James Williams is the managing director of Disaster Speak, a boutique consultancy specializing in public health risk management and advisory services in all areas of public health, environmental health, sanitation, climate change, and disaster risk reduction.
T he Australian government is work- ing to establish a Centre for Disease Control (CDC). The goal is to en- sure pandemic preparedness, lead the feder- al response to future disease outbreaks, and prevent noncommunicable and commu- nicable diseases (Australian Government, 2022a). This news is welcomed as Australia is the only country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) without a CDC or similar nation-
al organization (Australian Government, 2022b). The nation is uniquely placed to build on lessons from other countries to create a “world-class” Australian CDC by reinforcing environmental health systems and becoming the champion for evidence- based policy. In Australia, local authorities along with state and territory governments manage and address environmental health risks (Austra- lian Government, 2022c). These risks in-
42
Volume 85 • Number 7
Powered by FlippingBook