Today
Globally women are living longer, healthier lives—what are the success stories and new challenges?
Girls born today—International Women’s Day—can expect to live 20 years longer than women born in 1960, the same birth year as Nigella Lawson, Bono and Erin Brockovich.
In Nepal and China, the life expectancy for women has doubled over the past 50 to 60 years.
Child birth is much safer for babies and mums, more women are surviving cancer, universal education is giving girls the opportunity to achieve their goals, and infectious scourges of the past are no more.
But domestic violence and chronic diseases remain huge challenges in Australia, and the world’s poorest women are likely to bear the brunt of climate change.
Public health experts are available for interviews about the diseases, discoveries, substances and social policies changing women’s health—past, present, and future.
And international public health experts are coming to Australia this April…
In Australia, we’re blessed with safe drinking water. We have more to fear from sugary drinks, with chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, now responsible for 85 per cent of deaths worldwide.
And while a smaller proportion of people are dying young from infectious diseases, more people are living long enough to die from cancer—a disease of ageing—instead.
Will we still live as long in the face of new challenges such as climate change? What’s the quality of life we’re experiencing, particularly in our senior years? Why are other countries being left behind? What does the next century in public health hold for humanity?
The World Congress on Public Health will be held in Melbourne from 3 to 7 April, bringing together academics and policy makers from universities and institutions around the world, including the World Health Organization.
Media are welcome at the Congress and we’ll keep you posted on developments.
Kind regards,
Celebrating longer, healthier lives on International Women’s Day
What is saving and taking women’s lives in 2017?
The global average life expectancy for a girl born today is about 74 years. That’s 20 years more than women born in 1960.
An Australian girl born today can expect to live to 84 years. She’s gained a decade since 1960. Life expectancy for our Nepalese sisters has doubled from 35 to 71 years.
Around the world there’s been a remarkable transformation in the human condition. It’s come from a host of public achievements, including the following:
- Improvements in living conditions in the early 20th century—better water supplies, sewerage systems, food quality and health education, have led to overall lower death rates and longer life expectancy at all ages.
- In Australia, childbirth is 10 times safer for babies, and in USA, childbirth is 100 times safer for the mums than it was 100 years ago.
- In Australia, we’ve seen a 95 per cent decrease in death rate for children aged zero to four years (including infants).
- We’ve seen an 80 per cent reduction in cervical and uterine cancer mortality.
- We have universal education for all children with no discrimination towards girls achieving their goals.
- The protection of human rights of women and girls are improving, though we have more to do.
- Women are less likely to die of breast cancer thanks to screening and improved treatments.
Globally, there are big changes as well. For example, a quarter of all adult Botswanans carry HIV, but transmission from infected mums to their babies is just four per cent because of advances in health care and facilities, better access and education.
The global education of girls is continually improving the lives of girls and their families. Keeping girls in school and ensuring they can learn in safe and supportive environments is leading to many benefits for girls, their families, communities and economies.
But some problems are yet to be resolved. Globally 83 million people die each year from chronic disease.
One Australian woman dies each week due to domestic violence. There was a seven-fold increase in lung cancer deaths in women over the 20th century. Life expectancy for Indigenous women is 73.7 years, a 0.6-year improvement over the previous five years, but a long way still to go with Closing the Gap.
At the World Congress on Public Health in Melbourne in April, we’ll hear how Australia’s and the world’s public health leaders plan to transform women’s lives in the next 50 years.
How will they tackle domestic violence, adolescent health, diabetes, obesity, tobacco, alcohol and many other challenges?
Public Health global experts participating in the Congress are available for media interviews for International Women’s Day, including:
- Congress chair and public health guru, Professor Helen Keleher (Bio: www.med.monash.edu.au/epidemiology/staff/adjunct/keleher.html)
- Adjunct Professor Michael Moore AM, President of the World Public Health Association
For further information and interviews contact, Julie Michaud or Niall Byrne on 03 9398 1416, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, +61 417 131 977.
From clean air and water in developing nations to chronic disease in wealthy nations: World Congress on Public Health explores saving lives by the millions
In Australia, we’re blessed with safe drinking water. We have more to fear from sugary drinks, with chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, now responsible for 85 per cent of deaths worldwide.
And while a smaller proportion of people are dying young from infectious diseases, more people are living long enough to die from cancer—a disease of ageing—instead.
Will we still live as long in the face of new challenges such as climate change? What’s the quality of life we’re experiencing, particularly in our senior years? Why are other countries being left behind? What does the next century in public health hold for humanity?
The Congress provides a unique opportunity to explore these and other challenges, and hear presentations from leading international experts. Keynote speakers and topics include:
- From tobacco to ‘goon bags’ to sport sponsorship: what’s threatening the health of our young people?—Mike Daube, Curtin University and McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth
- How we can eliminate HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B by 2030?—Margaret Hellard, Burnet Institute
- Jobs and growth, investment and security: public health’s impact in a globalised world—Rüdiger Krech, World Health Organization
- Can communities help fight obesity, starting with sugary drinks?—Anne Peeters, Deakin University
- How European health policy helped fight Ebola—Ilona Kickbusch, The Graduate Institute Geneva
- How international trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, affect our health—Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe University.
If you’d like to attend the conference, media passes are available—contact Ellie Michaelides on ellie@scienceinpublic.com.au to register.
We’ll be tweeting news and interesting content from the Congress from @WCPH2017 using the hashtag #WCPH2017.
For more information about media at the Congress, visit the Science in Public website: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/publichealthcongress
For more information about the Congress itself, visit the website: www.wcph2017.com/index.php
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Kind regards,
________
Niall Byrne
Creative Director
Science in Public
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