RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Ecosystem and population health: the role of Canadian physicians at home and abroad
JF Canadian Medical Association Journal
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP 1117
OP 1120
VO 153
IS 8
A1 Woollard, R. F.
YR 1995
UL http://www.cmaj.ca/content/153/8/1117.abstract
AB Seemingly intractable problems of overpopulation, ecologic degradation, diminishing resources and regional warfare are having a profound effect on global population health. Canadian physicians can assist in ameliorating these problems by helping to modify the overconsumption of natural resources at home and by participating in international health projects focused at the community level, where the health of individuals and that of their environment intersect. The author describes the work of the Canadian Hunger Foundation in Vietnam and Sri Lanka, where a team of professionals worked with local farmers to improve the local water supply, decrease soil erosion and increase food production. The team observed changes in the physical health of communities that resulted in part from interventions that empowered them to address their own problems.