In this version of the compendium, each guidance is coded using the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). The compendium provides a systematic compilation of published guidance from WHO and other UN organizations on health and environment. Guidance on policies and actions as well as awareness raising and capacity building interventions is presented for all major areas of health and environment. Guidance referring to priority settings for action such as cities and other urban settlements, housing, workplaces and health care facilities is also listed. For greater practical relevance, each guidance is classified according to principally involved sectors, level of implementation and instruments for implementation. The compilation of guidance for each area of health and environment or priority setting for action is accompanied, as available, by information on main sources, exposure assessment and existing guideline values. Important tools and further resources are presented alongside. This compilation of published guidance on health and environment highlights that a large number of actions across main topics of health and environment, concerning various sectors, and applicable to various levels are available to improve health and reduce environmental risks. This compendium is intended to serve as a repository and easy-to-use and useful resource for decision and policy makers in health and environment at various levels. The Compendium is planned to be updated on an annual basis as additional guidance becomes available.

This is the 2024 update of the Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment. The Compendium is a comprehensive collection of available WHO and other UN guidance for improving health by creating healthier environments. It provides an overview and easy access of more than 500 actions, and a framework for thinking about health and environment interventions. It covers a broad range of areas such as air pollution, water, sanitation and hygiene, climate change, chemicals, radiation, or food systems. Guidance is classified according to principal sectors involved, level of implementation (national, community, health care), the type of instrument (taxes, infrastructure etc.) and the category of evidence. The Compendium compiles existing guidance from hundreds of documents in a simple and systematized format. To ensure the most up-to-date information is provided to the end users, the Compendium is updated on a regular basis and incorporates the latest major WHO or other UN guidance on health and environment. The target audience includes any decision-makers with relevance to health and environment, and those assisting them (such as mayors, staff in ministries, UN country staff etc.). The Compendium has been prepared by WHO in cooperation with UN Environment, UNDP and UNICEF.

Humankind is facing a perfect storm of climate change, biodiversity loss, and multiple forms of malnutrition (stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity) coexisting in the same country, community, household, and even individual. Challenges from each of these areas are well known and recognized, but what seems to be missing in many development and policy circles is a recognition that food is at the centre of all three of these issues. This paper identifies entry points within agri-food systems to improve biodiversity and diets, two levers that can be used to enhance nutrition and optimize environmental sustainability while ensuring social equity, especially of the most vulnerable people. It also presents recommendations for concrete actions by key stakeholders – governments, academia, civil society, private sector, and development partners –to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agri-food systems.

Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security discusses the issues, challenges, needs and opportunities related to the promotion of orphan crops, known also as neglected and underutilized species (NUS). The book is structured into six parts, covering the following themes: introduction to NUS, approaches, methods and tools for the use enhancement of NUS, integrated conservation and use of minor millets, nutritional and food security roles of minor millets, stakeholders and global champions, and, building an enabling environment. Presenting a number of case studies at the regional and country levels, the chapters cover different but highly interlinked aspects along the value chains, from acquisition and characterization of genetic diversity, cultivation and harvesting to value addition, marketing, consumption and policy for mainstreaming. Cross-cutting issues like gender, capacity building and empowerment of vulnerable groups are also addressed by authors. Representatives from communities, research for development agencies and the private sector also share their reflections on the needs for the use enhancement of NUS from their own perspectives. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food security, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health and development, as well as practitioners and policymakers involved in building more resilient food and production systems.

The International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021 (IYFV), as declared by the UN General Assembly in Resolution A/RES/74/244, aims at raising awareness of, directing policy attention to, and sharing good practices on the nutritional and health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, the contribution of fruit and vegetable consumption to the promotion of diversified, balanced and healthy diets and lifestyles, and reducing loss and waste of fruits and vegetables. This background paper outlines the benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, but also examines the various aspects of the fruit and vegetable sector from a food systems approach: from sustainable production and trade to loss and waste management. This paper provides an overview of the sector and a framework and a starting point for discussion for the Year, highlighting the interlinkages of stakeholders and key issues to be considered for action during the IYFV.

The Guidelines aim to support countries in the development of nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices that consider the nutrient composition of biodiversity for food and agriculture (in particular the varieties, cultivars and breeds of plants and animals used as food, as well as wild, neglected and underutilized species) to address malnutrition in all its forms. The Guidelines are divided into three main elements: Research, implementation, and awareness. Examples of activities are provided on how mainstreaming could be implemented depending on each country’s needs and capabilities.

Since its first publication in 1933, Clay’s Handbook of Environmental Health (under its different names) has provided a definitive guide for the environmental health practitioner (EHP), and an essential reference for the consultant and student. This 22nd edition continues with its more recent successful structure, reviewing the core principles, techniques, competencies and skills required of an EHP, and then outlining the specialist subjects without getting bogged down in a legalistic approach, seeking to broaden the content for a more global audience. This new edition seeks to educate the EHP on the public health impacts of global heating and the climate emergency and also reflects the COVID-19 pandemic, as might be expected. Although seeking to have global appeal, the impact of the UK leaving the EU is also addressed. The book examines environmental health in different settings, including in the military, working in both conflict and natural disaster settings, and environmental health at sea and airports. In line with previous editions, case studies are used to illustrate how EH problems have been resolved. This new edition includes guidance on key issues in public and environmental health including air pollution, contaminated land, housing and health, noise, water, food safety, pests and vector control, chemicals in the environment and radiation, as well as sustainability and public health and humanitarian crises. This handbook aims to give a basic understanding of the philosophical basis of environmental health, as well as the required technical aspects and an understanding of environmental health in different settings. All chapters have sections on further reading and sources of information. Clay’s Handbook is essential reading for all practitioners, students and researchers in environmental and public health wherever they are working.

Health care demands more and more cooperation and the convergence of all health related sciences, from Life Molecules to Global Health, as was most recently shown by the challenge of the COVID pandemic. This book brings together science contributions from NOVA’s researchers on biology and health, in the format of a broad life construct book.