Latest Maria Neira Stories

A senior official said on Wednesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking studies for up to 20 years to keep watch over public health in Japan following the Fukushima nuclear emergency. WHO environmental health chief Maria Neira said that the current risk to public heath outside the 18.6-mile exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant is based on tests and monitoring by Japanese authorities. "There is no need for new public health measures," Neira told...

The World Health Organization said on Friday that hospitals and their emergency vehicles, which are major polluters, must join the fight against climate change, Reuters reported.Maria Neira, director of the WHO's department of public health and environment, told a news briefing that the health sector could contribute a lot to reduce the carbon footprint because in many countries it is the second most important user and energy consumption is often very high.A WHO report published on Friday...

BANGKOK -- The rise of deadly new diseases such as SARS and bird flu could be linked to the destruction of the environment, the World Health Organization said on Friday."Human health is strongly linked to the health of ecosystems, which meet many of our most critical needs," Maria Neira, director of WHO's Department of Protection of the Human Environment told a news conference at the launch of a new report.Population growth and economic development were leading to rapid changes in...