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The links between rapid population growth and concerns regarding climate change have received little attention. Some commentators have argued that slowing population growth is necessary to reduce further rises in carbon emissions. Others have objected that this would give rise to dehumanizing "population control" programmes in developing countries. Yet the perspective of the developing countries that will be worst affected by climate change has been almost completely ignored by the scientific literature. This deficit is addressed by this paper, which analyses the first 40 National Adaptation Programmes of Action reports submitted by governments of least-developed countries to the Global Environment Facility for funding. Of these documents, 93% identified at least one of three ways in which demographic trends interact with the effects of climate change: (i) faster degradation of the sources of natural resources; (ii) increased demand for scarce resources; and (iii) heightened human vulnerability to extreme weather events. These findings suggest that voluntary access to family planning services should be made more available to poor communities in least-developed countries. We stress the distinction between this approach, which prioritizes the welfare of poor communities affected by climate change, and the argument that population growth should be slowed to limit increases in global carbon emissions. The paper concludes by calling for increased support for rights-based family planning services, including those integrated with HIV/AIDS services, as an important complementary measure to climate change adaptation programmes in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the burden of environmentally-related diseases in developing countries where childhood mortality rates due to diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections are linked to poor sanitation and indoor burning of solid fuels, respectively. The authors discuss 6 specific functions that health-system agencies can develop to improve environmental health. The 6 areas involve inter-sectoral policy, regulations, disease-specific and integrated programs, health facilities, outbreak response, and epidemiological evaluations of disease.

The author discusses the role of public health science in reducing alcohol addiction worldwide. He discusses the World Health Assembly's adoption of resolution EB126.R11, the "Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol" and two associated areas of implementation. These include expanding the evidence base of alcohol abuse so that the problem can be addressed in developing countries, and using science in the development of effective national and international alcohol policies.

The article presents news briefs on public health and medical care reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on diarrhoea in children, calling for a resurgence of attention to reduce associated child mortality. UNICEF and WHO also released statistics on growth in the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy as of the end of 2008.

The article discusses statistics on traffic fatalities and prospective increases associated with motorization worldwide and inadequate prevention strategies. It discusses a compilation of road safety information for 178 countries titled the "Global Status Report on Road Safety." Reported findings confirm that rates of traffic death in developing countries eclipse those in high-income countries.