This week’s print issue of The Lancet (14 November) carries the final report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health. The authors define planetary health as: “The achievement of the highest attainable standard of health, wellbeing, and equity worldwide through judicious attention to the human systems—political, economic, and social—that shape the future of humanity and the Earth’s natural systems that define the safe environmental limits within which humanity can flourish. Put simply, planetary health is the health of human civilisation and the state of the natural systems on which it depends”.

Here are the key messages of the report:

1. The concept of planetary health is based on the understanding that human health and human civilisation depend on flourishing natural systems and the wise stewardship of those natural systems. However, natural systems are being degraded to an extent unprecedented in human history.

2. Environmental threats to human health and human civilisation will be characterised by surprise and uncertainty. Our societies face clear and potent dangers that require urgent and transformative actions to protect present and future generations.

3. The present systems of governance and organisation of human knowledge are inadequate to address the threats to planetary health. We call for improved governance to aid the integration of social, economic, and environmental policies and for the creation, synthesis, and application of interdisciplinary knowledge to strengthen planetary health.

4. Solutions lie within reach and should be based on the redefinition of prosperity to focus on the enhancement of quality of life and delivery of improved health for all, together with respect for the integrity of natural systems. This endeavour will necessitate that societies address the drivers of environmental change by promoting sustainable and equitable patterns of consumption, reducing population growth, and harnessing the power of technology for change.

Here is a selected extract of particular relevance to HIFA:

‘The final priority for research should be to prioritise translational research and implementation science to address the on-the-ground realities of what is feasible and relevant in the settings facing the greatest threats to planetary health. The dissemination, communication, and implementation of knowledge has to be central to research. Research can and does end up with recommendations that cannot to be translated into policy and action because the research did not fully capture the barriers to policy and behavioural change and how to address them. An unacceptable gap exists between the unprecedented amount of knowledge of diseases (including their control) and the implementation of that knowledge, especially in poor countries. Directed and innovative research is needed to analyse the causes of this situation and to point toward solutions at the global and local levels, both within and outside the health sector.’

CITATION: Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health

Dr Sarah Whitmee, PhD, Prof Andy Haines, FMedSci, Prof Chris Beyrer, MD, Frederick Boltz, PhD, Prof Anthony G Capon, PhD, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, PhD, Alex Ezeh, PhD, Howard Frumkin, MD, Prof Peng Gong, PhD, Peter Head, BSc, Richard Horton, FMedSci, Prof Georgina M Mace, DPhil, Robert Marten, MPH, Samuel S Myers, MD, Sania Nishtar, PhD, Steven A Osofsky, DVM, Prof Subhrendu K Pattanayak, PhD, Montira J Pongsiri, PhD, Cristina Romanelli, MSc, Agnes Soucat, PhD, Jeanette Vega, MD, Derek Yach, MBChB

The Lancet Volume 386, No. 10007, p1973–2028, 14 November 2015

http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60901-1/fulltext

(free access after free registration)

Best wishes, Neil

Let’s build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare knowledge – Join HIFA: www.hifa2015.org