Environment, Climate Change and Health
We pursue a healthier environment by strengthening health sector leadership, building mechanisms for political and social support and monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals regarding environmental threats to health.

Endocrine disrupters

With growing evidence on the link between fetal development and a number of adult diseases, it is increasingly recognized that improved surveillance and follow-up in pregnancy must be prioritized. Equally vital is the promotion of healthier environments for mothers-to-be and pregnant women. Due to the complexity of these issues and the involvement of different sectors, this requires a broad range of interventions to reduce risk factors and create safe and supportive environments in home and community settings. 

In response to these challenges, WHO is working with partners in: awareness-raising and advocacy; training activities; translating science into simple messages; promoting collaborative research between developing and industrialized countries; and coordinating long-term studies, especially with the emergence of new research tools, such as biomarkers.

 

Publications

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Inheriting a sustainable world: Atlas on children’s health and the environment

Children are exposed to many different environments that have a profound influence on their growth and development. Environmental exposures, both adverse...

Endocrine disrupters and child health

The present document is a short summary of the current knowledge of the effects of endocrine disrupters on child health. We focus on the congenital disorders,...

State of the science of endocrine disrupting chemicals 2012

This document provides the global status of scientific knowledge on exposure to and effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).The work is based...

Collaboration between the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

For nearly 30 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have worked together under...

Summary of principles for evaluating health risks in children associated with exposure to chemicals

This summary document explains that children are among the most vulnerable of the world's population and environmental factors can affect children's health...

Training modules

Developmental and environmental origins of adult disease: training for health care providers

Internationally harmonized modules on key issues for paediatricians and paediatric nurses, family and public health professionals.This module is available...

Endocrine disorders: training for health care providers

Internationally harmonized modules on key issues for paediatricians and paediatric nurses, family and public health professionals.This module is available...

Journal articles

Special Issue: A Guide to Undertaking a Birth Cohort Study: Purposes, Pitfalls and Practicalities

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, Vol 23, Issue Supplement s1, Pages iii–v, 1–236 (July 2009)

Ethical issues in measuring biomarkers in children's environmental health

Environ Health Perspect . 2009 Aug;117(8):1185-90

Early environments, early origins of health and disease (in French)

Med Sci (Paris) Volume 32, Number 1, Janvier 2016

Air pollution and child health: prescribing clean air

Issues 2019 Global impressions

Identifying important life stages for monitoring and assessing risks from exposures to environmental contaminants

Volume 69, Issue 1, June 2014, Pages 113-124

Environmental exposures: an underrecognized contribution to noncommunicable diseases

De Gruyter | 2013

Networking to advance progress in children's environmental health

The Lancet, Global Health. Volume 2, Issue 3, E129-E130, March 01, 2014

Children’s health in Latin America: The influence of environmental exposures

2015. Children’s health in Latin America: the influence of environmental exposures. Environ Health Perspect 123:201–209

Health Consequences of Environmental Exposures in Early Life: Coping with a Changing World in the Post-MDG Era

Annals of Global Health Volume 82, Issue 1, January–February 2016, Pages 20-27

Environmental threats to children's health – a global problem

Inderscience Online Volume 2, Issue 3-4

Health Consequences of Environmental Exposures: Causal Thinking in Global Environmental Epidemiology

Annals of Global Health Volume 82, Issue 1, January–February 2016, Pages 3-9

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Integrating Environmental Influences

Endocrinology. 2015 Oct; 156(10): 3416–3421

Ensuring multisectoral action on the determinants of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in the post-2015 era

BMJ 2015; 351