The George Institute for Global Health welcomes the launch of the ‘World Health Organization (WHO) Global Sodium Benchmarks for Different Food Categories’  as a pathway to turbo charge national salt reduction programs.

The benchmarks are a guide for countries and industry to reduce the sodium content in specific categories of processed foods that are a main source of sodium in many countries, including Australia. Countries can adapt these targets to their local food environments, requiring industry to progressively lower the sodium content of processed foods.

Professor Jacqui Webster, Head, Public Health Advocacy and Policy Impact, Food Policy at The George Institute and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Population Salt Reduction said this is a key turning point for global sodium reduction efforts, “Our research shows 94 countries now have a national salt reduction strategy but only a handful are so far demonstrating an impact. This new WHO led global initiative has the potential to build momentum for salt reduction strategies by setting more ambitious targets that can have meaningful health outcomes. We are now looking forward to working with WHO to support member states to adopt or adapt the global benchmarks and to develop mechanisms to hold the food industry to account reducing sodium levels in food products.”

Emalie Rosewarne, Dietitian at The George Institute, said that countries can now easily adapt the global sodium benchmarks to their local food supply – saving governments time, effort and money, “The WHO benchmarks are ambitious but feasible and are a great way for countries to start reducing sodium in the food supply. High sodium intakes contribute to high blood pressure – the leading cause of death and disease. It is crucial targets are set, and governments reach them, to improve population health.”

The George Institute for Global Health has joined over 55 health organisations in writing an open letter to the Prime Minister urging the Australian Government for stronger action on climate. “As health experts, we are extremely concerned about the effects climate change is having on human health” said Professor Christine Jenkins, Head of Respiratory at The George Institute. “We are particularly concerned about how changes in our climate can worsen the already alarming impact of non-communicable diseases in our community. The George Institute is proud to be coming together with our health sector colleagues to ask the Government to take immediate and strong action on climate for a healthier future.”

Read the letter here.

On 28th April 2021, the United Nations adopted a historic Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention, calling on countries around the world to recognise and take action to prevent hundreds of thousands of drowning deaths each year.

The Resolution was proposed by the Governments of Bangladesh and Ireland, and co-sponsored by 79 countries, including those of Australia and India. The George Institute for Global Health warmly welcomes the Resolution as a significant milestone that builds on many years of action to make drowning prevention a priority. The George Institute’s teams in Australia and India congratulate their governments for their support.

Dr Jagnoor Jagnoor, who leads The George Institute’s drowning prevention research, said:

“The importance of this Resolution lies in the far-reaching commitment of countries individually – and together – to share knowledge, experiences and best practices for reducing drowning deaths. It creates awareness of drowning as a forgotten and avoidable epidemic, and demonstrates how drowning prevention can enable progress on climate resilience, health equity and the Sustainable Development Goals."

There have been 2.5 million preventable deaths due to drowning during the past decade; more than 90% of them in low- and middle-income countries. Children and adolescents in rural areas are disproportionately affected, with many countries reporting drowning as the leading cause of childhood mortality.

The Resolution encourages countries to develop national drowning prevention plans and programming, in line with interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and to ensure enactment and enforcement of water safety laws. Other actions include the promotion of public awareness and behaviour change campaigns; research and development of innovative drowning prevention tools and technology; and capacity-building through international cooperation.

To raise awareness of the importance of drowning prevention and the need for urgent, multi-sectoral action to improve water safety and reduce preventable deaths, the Resolution proclaims 25 July as UN World Drowning Prevention Day, to be marked annually.

The George Institute congratulates the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for its role in bringing this resolution to fruition, and in supporting research into drowning in Asia and Africa. We also acknowledge the role of our collaborators and partners - the Child In Need Institute, India, the Hanoi School of Public Health, Vietnam, and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh - for their contribution in generating robust evidence to inform drowning prevention strategies.

Emma Feeny, Director of Global Advocacy and Policy Engagement at The George Institute, said:

“This Resolution is the result of the unwavering commitment of the drowning prevention community, including advocates, researchers, civil society organisations and government champions, over many years. It is a stamp of recognition, as well as what we hope will be the dawn of strengthened national and international action to reduce lives lost to drowning globally, particularly in those regions where the burden remains greatest.”

This historic Resolution will be formally celebrated on the inaugural World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July 2021. Please check our website for updates on how to join in activities to mark the day. You can read the Resolution in full here, and find out more about The George Institute’s work on drowning prevention here. 

Falls are a growing and under-recognised public health issue globally. Every year more than 684,000 people die as a result of a fall, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries. An additional 172 million people are left with short- or long-term disability.

To address the huge global burden caused by falls, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new report, Step safely: Strategies for preventing and managing falls across the life-course. The report urges governments, health professionals and practitioners to take urgent action to implement the recommendations.

Contributors to Step safely from UNSW School of Population Health, and The George Institute for Global Health, welcomed the report as a global milestone to drive much-needed action, and called for countries to implement the recommendations so they can have a real impact on lives.

Co-editor of Step safely and co-author of the evidence synthesis that informed the report, Professor Rebecca Ivers, Head of the UNSW School of Population Health and Founding Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre (CC) for Injury Prevention and Trauma Care, said:

“Falls prevention is not something that can be tackled as a one-off health issue or in silos – it requires a life-course approach. Whether you are a child or an older person, no matter where you live, you have a right to the best chance of not being injured and having a healthy life. Step safely outlines an evidence-based path to this approach.” 

Step safely was developed in response to the need for evidence-based strategies to prevent and manage falls, and is suitable for practitioners, program managers and decision-makers whose portfolios may affect falls outcomes.

According to the WHO, globally, falls result in more years lived with disability than road traffic injury, poisoning, drowning and burns combined. Contributing factors to falls, such as ageing populations, increased urbanisation and sedentary lifestyles, mean that rates of fall-related injury are predicted to drastically rise in the coming decade.

Dr Margie Peden, Head of the Global Injury Program at The George Institute for Global Health, and Co-Director of the WHO CC for Injury Prevention and Trauma Care said:

“If we are to make progress towards the United Nations SDGs and improve health and reduce health inequity, then we need evidence-based global action to reduce the growing harm that results from falls. The WHO Step safely package is a ‘step’ in the right direction but needs to be supported by multi-country implementation studies to better understand context specific priorities and which of the recommendations will have the greatest impact.”

Step safely was launched on 27 April by the WHO at a special event with a panel discussion featuring leading global injury prevention experts.

Speaking at the event, expert panel member Dr Olive Kobusingye, Senior Research Fellow, Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda and Distinguished Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, said:

“The lack of organised emergency medical service systems to respond to falls, and of rehab systems in both rural and urban settings, means that patients that suffer falls tend to slip through the cracks - we need to do more sensitisation within the healthcare system and communities so people that suffer falls can get the appropriate care. This includes implementing policies, laws and regulations to prevent falls – especially for safer urban housing and safer workplaces.”

Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, second only to road traffic injury.

Co-editor of Step safely and co-author of the evidence synthesis that informed the report, Melanie Andersen, Research Fellow at UNSW School of Population Health, presented the findings at the launch event.  She said:

“The burden of falls is not equitably distributed. Step safely is based on research evidence, though research is scant about preventing falls in some groups like those working in high risk occupations. Where this is the case, Step safely also takes a pragmatic approach to recommend best practice approaches.”

The report reflects the growing evidence and awareness that many falls are preventable and that prevention efforts are effective.

In 2016, the WHO commissioned researchers from the WHO CC for Injury Prevention and Trauma Care at The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW School of Population Health to conduct a review of high-quality global evidence on falls prevention. The Evidence Synthesis report, along with a global end-user survey and extensive input from global falls experts, formed the background to Step safely: strategies for preventing and managing falls across the life-course, to which the researchers were also major contributors. 

The George Institute for Global Health is a designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention and Trauma Care.

• View the full report, Step safely: strategies for preventing and managing falls across the life-course

• Find more information and the Evidence Synthesis here