Previous Recaps: Day 1, Day 2
ICUH Day 3, Friday, October 29, 2010
The final day of the three-day International Conference on Urban Health at The New York Academy of Medicine opened with a plenary session exploring the role of civil society and business in addressing urban health.
Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Director of the Doctor of Public Health Program at the City University of New York School of Public Health at Hunter College, spoke on the role that corporations play in the health of cities, providing examples of United States soft drink and tobacco companies aggressively promoting their harmful products in foreign cities. He also highlighted the overproduction of cheap handguns in the 1990s that contributed greatly to urban homicides and gun injuries. In his remarks, Dr. Freudenberg noted that public health professionals can work to minimize harmful business practices by studying and developing the knowledge and skills to understand these practices, partnering with local government and health departments to prioritize protecting the public against these practices, and joining efforts to create a more level political playing field.
Nicholas Freudenberg
Siddharth Agarwal, Executive Director of the Urban Health Resource Centre (UHRC), addressed the issue of how civil society organizations contribute to urban health governance by highlighting the work of NGOs and grassroots civil society groups in India to develop maps that identify areas of urban poverty. He said these maps have succeeded in drawing attention to unlisted slums and hidden pockets of poverty, contributing to greater access to housing, food entitlements, and health services for these often neglected populations. Dr. Agarwal also spoke about the ability of civil society groups to approve the accountability of health services and facilitate direct dialogue between slum dwellers and health administrators.
Mark Montgomery, Professor of Economics at Stony Brook University and Senior Associate in the Poverty, Gender and Youth Program at the Population Council in New York, spoke on climate change and natural disasters in poor countries. Dr. Montgomery outlined ways in which social and health sciences researchers, NGOs and community organizations, and city governments can work together to identify high-risk areas and develop adaptation strategies.
The day's special plenary was delivered by Dr. Jacob Kumaresan, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan. Dr. Kumaresan gave an overview of current global urban health challenges and provided an update on WHO activities in 2010, which the organization proclaimed as the Year of Urban Health. These included World Health Day on April 7, which featured calls to action on several urban health issues; efforts by three WHO regions to focus on urbanization and health; and the development of the WHO/UN-Habitat Global Urban Health Report, which he said will be released in November. Dr. Kumaresan also spoke on the need to look beyond averages to unmask urban inequities, citing the example of chronic child malnutrition, which is worse in urban areas than rural areas in Africa and Asia, and progressively worse on a scale of richer to poorer areas in cities in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Dr. Kumaresan closed his address by saying that the next step involves "mainstreaming urban health equity as a major agenda in cities and countries," with a focus on metrics, governance, and emergency management as each relates to urban health.
Dr. Jacob Kumaresan
Among the research presented in the day's oral sessions were several important studies on the health of World Trade Center-area residents and workers after 9/11. One focused on the correlation between acute and chronic exposures to the events of 9/11 and lower respiratory infections, representing the largest U.S. effort to monitor health after a disaster. Others found similarities between 9/11-related exposures and gastric reflux, sarcoidosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions. Collectively, this research supports and informs diagnosis and treatment programs for 9/11 survivors.
A notable report on the decline of smoking-attributable deaths in New York City from 2002-2008, released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, documents the impact of New York City anti-smoking interventions. Findings included a 27% decrease in current smoking and a 13% decline in smoking-attributable mortality (including from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease), indicating that an estimated 4,800 lives were saved.
The ICUH drew over 700 participants from 44 countries to share urban health research and best practices and explore the theme of good governance for healthy cities.
ICUH Attendees on last day of conference
