Press Kit

The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health will be published Oct. 19, 6:30 pm ET, 2017.

The Commission on Pollution and Health is an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Commissioners include many of the world’s leading researchers and practitioners in the fields of pollution management, environmental health and sustainable development.

Launch Events/Press Briefings

Launch events and press briefings will take place around the world in NYC; Washington, D.C.; Brussels; Ottawa; Delhi. RSVP to attend. Live streaming options are available at some events. See individual event details.

NYC Oct 23 with Gina McCarthy, Achim Steiner, Carlos Salinas, Dr. Phil Landrigan, and more. (live stream available)
Brussels Oct 26, with a pane moderated by UNIDO (live stream available)
Ottawa Oct 31
Qatar, Nov. 7
Delhi Nov 14
Philippines, Nov 30

Materials available on request, embargoed 23:30 UK time, Thurs. Oct 19

The full report
Backgrounder on the report
Infographics and Key Findings
Press release
Country-Level Data (# of deaths by country)
Solutions and Recommendations
An interactive map illustrating the data from the study will be available via: https://www.pollution.org/ (see below for more crowd-sourced pollution reporting efforts

Interviews available:

See Q&As with Commissioners and select quotes.

Co-Chairs of the Commission:

Richard Fuller, President of Pure Earth, Secretariat of GAHP. Read his Q&A.
Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, Arnhold Institute for Global Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Dr. Landrigan is a pediatrician, an international leader in public health and preventive medicine, and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Read his Q&A.

Please call to to check availability of these other global experts:

Gina McCarthy, Former Administrator, EPA
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, Former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme; Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (2001-2006)
Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment (2010-2014); European Commissioner for Science and Research (2004-2010); Minister for European Affairs, Government of Slovenia (2002-2004). Read more.
Carlos Salinas, President, Mexico (1988-1994). Read more.
Jairam Ramesh, Member of the Indian Parliament; Minister of Rural Development, Government of India (2011-2014); Minister of State, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (2009-2011). Read more.
Olusoji Adeye, Director, Health, Nutrition & Population Global Practice, The World Bank Group; Director, Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (2009-2012). Read more.
Karti Sandilya, Author of Section 3 on Environmental Justice issues – Senior Advisor, Pure Earth; U.S. Resident Director, Asian, Development Bank (2002-2004); Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, India (1983-1986). Read more.
Keith Martin, MD, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health; Member of Parliament, Canada (1993-2011). Read more.
Maureen McTeer, Canadian Lawyer, Activist; Professor, University of Ottawa, former First Lady of Canada. Read more.
Frederica Perera, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Read more.
Maureen Cropper, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, Economist, Co-Lead Author of Commission Report Chapter 2. Read more.
Onno Van Schayck, Scientific Director of the Netherlands School of Primary Care Research, Professor of preventative medicine, Maastricht University. Read more.
Roberto Bertollini, Member of the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks of the European Commission; Advisor, Office of the Minister of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar; Visiting Professor, University of Lisbon, Portugal; Former Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow – Robert Bosch Academy, Germany; Former WHO Chief Scientists and Representative to the EU. Read more.
Vijoleta Gordeljevic, Health and Environment Alliance
Mukesh Khare, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Bruce Lanphear, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University,Burnaby, BC, Canada. Read more.

QUOTES (from press release)

“Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge – it is a profound and pervasive threat that affects many aspects of human health and wellbeing. It deserves the full attention of international leaders, civil society, health professionals, and people around the world,” says Commission co-lead, Professor Philip Landrigan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA. “Despite its far-reaching effects on health, the economy and the environment, pollution has been neglected in the international assistance and the global health agendas, and some control strategies have been deeply underfunded. Our goal is to raise global awareness of the importance of pollution, and mobilise the political will needed to tackle it, by providing the most in-depth estimates of pollution and health available.”

“Pollution, poverty, poor health, and social injustice are deeply intertwined. Pollution and related diseases most often affect the world’s poor and powerless, and victims are often the vulnerable and the voiceless. As a result, pollution threatens fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, health, wellbeing, safe work, as well as protections of children and the most vulnerable.” Says Commission author Karti Sandilya, Pure Earth, USA.

“In order to tackle pollution, we must prioritise it as an issue that affects us all, integrating it into health planning, and increasing funding to allow more research into pollution, such as monitoring pollution and its effects, and developing ways to control pollution,” says Commission co-lead, Richard Fuller, Pure Earth, USA. “Pollution can be eliminated, and pollution prevention can be highly cost-effective – helping to improve health and extend lifespan, while boosting the economy. This has been seen in high-income and some middle-income countries where legislation has helped to curb the most flagrant forms of pollution, and has led to cleaner air and water, lower blood lead concentrations, removal of hazardous waste sites, and less polluted and more liveable cities.”

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Richard Horton, editor-in-chief, and Dr Pamela Das, Senior Executive Editor of The Lancet say: “No country is unaffected by pollution. Human activities including industrialisation, urbanisation, and globalisation, are all drivers of pollution… We hope that the findings and recommendations from this Lancet Commission will also marshal action in the health and development sectors, and persuade leaders at the national, state, provincial, and city levels to make pollution a priority. Although there is some activity on pollution internationally, much more is needed… This Lancet Commission should inform policy makers and serve as a timely call to action. Pollution is a winnable battle.”

Photos

These photos appear on the cover of the report from The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health. You may use these for coverage related to the report. They MUST be credited:

Photo: Larry C. Price