Vision for global health
New program plans new undergraduate minor and major, plus an ambitious five-year research agenda.
Global Observatory on Planetary Health
Air, water, soil, and chemical pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and death in the world, responsible for an estimated 9 million premature deaths per year.
We're working to change that.
Boston College has established the Global Observatory on Planetary Health to track efforts to control pollution and prevent pollution-related diseases. Collaborating with the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, we're focused on the impact of pollution upon issues including children’s health and adolescent health, cardiovascular disease and death, cancer, and the loss of “human capital” caused by toxic pollutants that impair brain function in children. Priority toxins to study include asbestos, lead, and mercury.
Learn about Air Quality Index in Massachusetts
News
Recent Publications
- Health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
- Human Health and Ocean Pollution
- Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era
- Trump’s environmental and occupational policies are the other public health disasters
- COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
- COVID-19 and clean air: an opportunity for radical change
- Infographic: Trump Commission
- Infographic: The Ocean Pollution-Berg
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partnership with United Nations
BC officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Environment agency on September 24, establishing the Observatory’s first partnership in advance of a study of pollution in India
“The program in Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College will align closely with BC’s educational and spiritual missions because public health is deeply rooted in a philosophy of social justice and ethics, strives to eradicate inequities in health, and embodies a preferential option for the poor.”