International Geographical Union Commission on Health
and the Environment
Annual Report
January to December 2002
Professor Mark W. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Chairperson
Queen’s University
Department of Geography
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
K7L 3N6
Tel. +1+613+533-6046
Fax +1+613+533-6122
Annual Report of the International Geographical Union Commission
On Health and the Environment for the Period January to December 2002
Steering Committee Members
Professor Mark W. Rosenberg, Queen’s University, Canada, Chairperson
- Dr. Sarah Atkinson, University of Manchester, United Kingdom, Secretary and Steering Committee Member
- Dra. Maria Elena Ducci, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile Steering Committee Member
- Professor Anandan Shanmuganadan, Madurai Kamaraj University, India, Steering Committee Member
- Dr. Joseph Oppong, University of North Texas, USA, Steering Committee Member
- Professor Svetlana Malkhazova, Moscow State University, Steering Committee Member
- Dr. Paula Santana, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal, Steering Committee Member
- Professor Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Steering Committee Member
- Ms. Cathy Oelofse, University of Natal (Durban), South Africa, Steering Committee Member
- Dr. Robin Kearns, University Auckland, New Zealand, Steering Committee Member
- Professor Wuyi Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, Steering Committee Member
- Dr. Thomas Krafft, German National Committee on Global Change Research, Germany, Steering Committee Member
- Professor Cosimo Palagiano, University of Rome, Steering Committee Member
- Professor Susana Curto, National Council of Science and Technological Research (CONICET), Steering Committee Member
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Professor Mark Rosenberg, Chairperson
Queen’s University
Department of Geography
Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6
t. (613) 533-6046
f. (613) 533-6122
Dr. Sarah Atkinson, Secretary and Steering Committee Member
Geography Department
Mansfield Cooper Building
Oxford Rd.
University of Manchester
Manchester, M13 9PL
United Kingdom
t. +44 0161 275 3647
f. +44 0161 275 7878
Dra. Maria Elena Ducci, Steering Committee Member
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Instituto de Estudios Urbanos y Territoriales
El Comendador 1916, Pedro de Valdivia Norte
Casilla 16002-Correo 9
Santiago de Chile
Chile
t. 56 -2-3545511
f. 56 -2 -2328805
Professor Anandan Shanmuganadan, Steering Committee Member
Department of Geography
Madurai Kamaraj University
Palkalainagar
Madurai -625 021
Tamilnadu, India
t. +91 (-452) -858257
f. +91 (-452) -531056 /640707
Dr. Joseph Oppong, Steering Committee Member
Department of Geography
University of North Texas
210 Environmental Education Science and Technology Building
P. O. Box 305279, Denton, TX 76203-5279
USA
t. (940) 565-2181
f. (940) 369-7550
Professor Svetlana Malkhazova, Steering Committee Member
Faculty of Geography
Lomonosov Moscow State University
119899, Moscow
Russia
t. 7 095 939 2140
f. 7 095 939 2238
Dr. Paula Santana, Steering Committee Member
Department of Geography
University of Coimbra
Coimbra,
Portugal, 3030
t. +351 (239) 859967
f. +351 (239) 716851
Professor Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, Steering Committee Member
Department of Geography
University of the West Indies (Mona Campus)
Mona, Kingston
Jamaica
t. (876) 927-2129
f. (876) 977-6029
Ms. Cathy Oelofse, Steering Committee Member
Department of Geography
University of Natal (Durban)
Room: 3S09
Memorial Tower Building
Durban
South Africa
t. +27 (-31) -2601403
f. +27 (-31) -2601391
Dr. Robin Kearns, Steering Committee Member
School of Geography and Environmental Science
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019, Auckland
Aotearoa/New Zealand
t. +64 (-9) -373 7599 ext 8442
f. +64 (-9) -373 7434
Professor Wuyi Wang, Steering Committee Member
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Geographical Sciences
And Natural Resources Research
3 Datun Road
Beijing 100101
China
t. 86-10-64889286
f. 86-10-64856504
Dr. Thomas Krafft, Steering Committee Member
Nationales Komitee für Global Change Forschung
German National Committee on Global Change Research
Wissenschaftliches Sekretariat / Scientific Secretariat
Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften
Sektion Geographie
Luisenstraße 37
D-80333 München
Germany
t. +49 (0) 89 - 21 80 65 92
f.
Professor Cosimo Palagiano, Steering Committee Member
Dipartimento di Geografia Umana
Università Degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”
Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia
P. Le Aldo Moro
5-00185 Roma
Italy
t. +39 06 49913917
f. +39 06 499 13874
Professor Susana Curto, Steering Committee Member
National Council of Science and Technological Research (CONICET)
Epidemiological Research Center (CIE) of the National Academy of Medicine
Buenos Aires
Argentina
t. +54 (11) 4 334-3220
f. +54 (11) 4 331-4018
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Number of CHE Commission Members by Country
IGU Commission on Health and the EnvironmentMembership as of 31 December 2002
Country / Members / Country / Members
Argentina / 3 / Kenya / 1
Australia / 4 / Korea / 2
Austria / 1 / Mauritania / 1
Bangladesh / 5 / Mauritius / 1
Belgium / 2 / Mexico / 2
Benin / 1 / Netherlands / 4
Brazil / 3 / New Zealand / 4
Brunei / 1 / Nigeria / 5
Burkina Fasso / 1 / Northern Ireland / 1
Canada / 15 / Norway / 1
Chile / 1 / Pakistan / 1
China / 4 / Poland / 3
Cuba / 2 / Portugal / 3
Czech Republic / 4 / Romania / 1
Egypt / 1 / Russia / 5
Estonia / 1 / Saudia Arabia / 1
Fiji / 1 / Slovenia / 1
Finland / 2 / South Africa / 11
France / 18 / Spain / 3
Germany / 11 / Sri Lanka / 1
Hong Kong / 1 / Sweden / 4
Hungary / 3 / Switzerland / 6
India / 19 / Taiwan / 2
Indonesia / 1 / Thailand / 1
Ireland / 2 / Turkey / 1
Israel / 1 / United Kingdom / 15
Italy / 7 / United States / 18
Ivory Coast / 1 / West Indies / 2
Japan / 4 / Zaire / 1
Jordan / 1
Total / 223
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Meetings in 2002
As part of IGU 2002, “Geographical Renaissance at the Dawn of the Millenium”, the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Health and the Environment (CHE), organized two symposia. The first symposium, Environmental Health in the Developing World, was held on 5 August 2002 and the second symposium, Geographies of Health Inequalities in the Developing and Developed World, was held 6 August 2002. The CHE also sponsored 6 poster presentations. In addition, a business meeting of the CHE was held at the conclusion of the second symposium.
At the business meeting Professor Rosenberg reported on the changes to the IGU Constitution and in particular the changes that directly affected the commissions (i.e., changing the terminology to a Steering Committee and Regular Members). There was also a discussion of the plans of the CHE for the IGU World Congress in Glasgow in 2004. There was a consensus that the CHE should hold a pre-congress meeting if a local organizer could be found (see below).
Symposium I - Environmental Health in the Developing World
Chair: M. Rosenberg
Viljoen, G, Environmental and health conditions: A comparative analysis between "black" and "coloured" infromal settlements on the Cape Flats
Krafft, T, Kremer, A, Environmental degradation and health hazards in medium sized towns in India: Research methods for studying the interdependency between urban growth and health risks
Brillet, P, A geographical typology of malaria
Mthembu, AT, The study of epidemics in the three selected areas of the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal
Symposium II - Geographies of Health Inequalities in the Developing and Developed World
Chair: C. Oelofse
Rosenberg, M.W, Moore, E.G, Aging across Canada: Comparing service rich and service poor communities
Sinha, B., Health inequality and social hierarchy in a globalized regime of 21st Century
Wang, W, Li, R; Li, H, Regional assessment on health and development of China
Pillay, R, Using GIS to spatially portray the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and its demographic consequences in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Cooper, A.K, du Plessis, P.M, Mapping fatal injury data for crime and injury prevention
Posters
Garbharran, H.P; Edwards, M.J; Smith, M.A, PARTNERS : A model of HIV/AIDS prevention in informal settlements
Edwards, M.J, Garbharran, H.P; O'Hara Murdock; Smith, M.A, Community health diagnosis of three informal settlements in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Garbharran, H.P, Edwards, M.J; O' Hara Murdock, P.;Smith, M.A, The US-South Africa research partnership for KwaZulu-Natal's infromal communities
Smith, M.A, Garbharran, H.P; Edwards, M.J; O'Hara Murdock, Safe water/sanitation and hygiene intervention strategies for three informal settlements in Durban : KwaZulu-Natal
Smith, K, , The bioaccessibility of soil-associated Pb ingested by sheep across Mid-Wales
Booysen, I. Visualising secondary health data to portray well-being patterns in South Africa
New Aspects of Health and the Environment for Rapid Developing China
As part of the Chinese National Geographical Congress in Beijing in November 2002, the Chinese Committee of Medical Geography (Chairperson, Professor Wuyi Wang, Vice-Chairperson, Professor Sheng Sheng Gong), held a symposium on new aspects of health and the environment for rapid developing China.
GeoHealth 2002
The GeoHealth 2002 Conference was held in Wellington, New Zealand from 3-5 December. The event was co-sponsored by the NZ Ministry of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Eagle Technology, Critchlow Associates and the IGU Commission on Health and the Environment. Delegates from 15 countries attended, travelling from as far as Finland, Japan, Canada, and Sri Lanka. Hence many new research collaborations and friendships were formed, encouraged by the warm New Zealand sunshine and hospitality.
The focus of the conference was on using GIS approaches to better inform health decision-making. The importance of this was emphasised by an excellent range of keynote addresses with Chuck Croner (CDC), Bill Davenhall (ESRI) and Stefano Lazzari (WHO) looking at the wide policy needs of the future, and Mike Goodchild (UCSB), Gerry Rushton (Iowa) and Danny Dorling (Leeds) exploring some thought-provoking methodological challenges for the research communities.
Hence paper sessions explored many of the themes for geographical techniques to support policy. These included the spatial infrastructure approaches of national health organisations (e.g. the UK NHS, Health Canada and the NZ Ministry of Health), addressing health inequalities, accessibility to health care, surveillance of vector-borne diseases and accidents, using the web for health information, and developments in spatial analyses. These provided the springboard for the exchanges of problems and possibilities between the policy-makers and research groups, which was immensely worthwhile.
Future Meetings Planned
The CHE is a co-sponsor of the 10th International Symposium in Medical Geography to be held 14 to 18 July 2003. The 10th International Symposium in Medical Geography has evolved into the largest meeting of medical geographers in the world. It covers virtually all topics in related to medical geography, health geography and health and the environment.
Dr. Svetlana Malkhazova is on the organizing committee for the IGU Topical Conference to be held in Moscow and Barnaul (Altai) from 20 to 29 July 2003. We anticipate that there will be some sessions on health and the environment sponsored by the CHE.
The Chinese Committee of Medical Geography (Chairperson, Professor Wuyi Wang, Vice-Chairperson, Professor Sheng Sheng Gong) will hold its 6th Symposium in Medical Geography in October 2003 in southwest China.
The CHE has invited Dr. Thomas Krafft to organize a pre-conference meeting of the CHE prior to the IGU World Congress in Glasgow to be held in Munich August 2004. In addition to it being useful to the CHE in planning its activities for 2004 to 2008, we believe that such a meeting will enhance participation in Glasgow by giving CHE members the opportunity to present at two meetings and seeing two parts of Europe. It will also be the first CHE pre-conference meeting since the Lisbon regional meeting.
Collaborations with other IGU Commissions and Task Forces
The IGU Commission on Modelling Geographical Systems is a co-sponsor of the 10th International Symposium in Medical Geography. The CHE is also supporting the IGU Study Group on Water Sustainability in its efforts to produce a World Atlas of Water Sustainability.
Collaborations with Other International and Inter- and Multi-disciplinary Groups
In co-sponsoring conferences in New Zealand in 2002, the other co-sponsors were NZ Ministry of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Eagle Technology, Critchlow Associates. The co-sponsorship of the 10th International Symposium in Medical Geography represents an ongoing relationship with the Association of American Geographers Medical Geography Specialty Group, the Canadian Association of Geographers Study Group in Health and Health Care and the Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Study Group in Health and Health Care.
Publications
Geojournal Special Section on Urban Health
Dunn, J.R. and Rosenberg, M.W. (2001) “Guest editorial: revealing the spaces of urban health”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 107.
Rosenberg, M.W. and Wilson, K. (2001) “Exploring the links between health and housing: the limitations of population health surveys”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 109-116.
Ross, N.A., Nobrega, K., and Dunn, J. (2001) “ Income segregation, income inequality and mortality in North American metropolitan areas”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 117-124.
Eisenhauer, E. (2001) “In poor health: supermarket redlining and urban nutrition”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 125-133.
Luginaah, I., Jerret, M., Elliott, S., Eyles, J., Parizeau, K., Birch, S., Abernathy, T., Veenstra, G., Hutchinson, B. and Giovis, C. (2001) “Health profiles of Hamilton: spatial characteristics of neighbourhoods for health investigations”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 135-147.
Reader, S. (2001) “Detecting and analyzing clusters of low-birth weight incidence using exploratory spatial data analysis”, Geojournal. Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 149-159.
* The issue of Geojournal actually appeared in 2002.
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy – Theme Issue: Contemporary Urban Problems and Population Health
Dunn, J.R. and Rosenberg, M.W. (2002) “Guest editorial – Contemporary urban problems and population health”, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 475-476.
Morello-Frosch, R.A. (2002) “Discrimination and the political economy of environmental inequality”, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 477-496.
Cheer, T., Kearns, R. and Murphy, L. (2002) “Housing policy, poverty and culture: ‘discounting’ decisions among Pacific peoples in Auckland, New Zealand”, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 497-516.
Curtis, S., Cave, B. and Coutts, A. (2002) “Is urban regeneration good for health? Perceptions and theories of the health impacts of urban change”, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 517-534.
Other Publications
IGU Commission on Health and the Environment Newsletter, Winter 2002.
Krafft, Thomas, Rick Bissell and Mark W. Rosenbergwith contributions from P.K. Das, L. Garcia-Castrillo Riesgo, M. Loytonen, T. Kistemann, G. Klein and B. Menne, Health and the Environment. A Crosscutting Issue in Global Change Research. Bonn, Germany: German National Committee on Global Change Research, 2002. `
Phillips, David W., Rosenberg, Mark W., and Wilson, Kathleen (forthcoming). "Medical Geography", in the UNESCO Encyclopaedia of Life-Support Systems. M. Salas, Honorary Theme Editor, New York: UNESCO, Theme 6.14, Geography.
De Santis, Giovanni M.P. ed. (forthcoming). Proceedings of the VII International Seminar in Medical Geography: Health and Migration. Perugia: Rux.
Commission Web Site
Under construction.
Archival Contributions
Until now, we have not submitted any material to the archives. I will contact Villa Celimontana to determine what material they would like from CHE.
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