E-News July 2011
We are pleased to present the July edition of the First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network’s (FNEHIN) newsletter, providing a monthly summary of environmental health news, events, funding opportunities, etc.
Funding Opportunities
The National First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program (NFNECP) and Drinking Water Quality Program (DWQP) Call for Proposals for 2012-2013 opened on June 30th, 2011. The deadline for proposal submission for this call will be NOVEMBER 15th, 2011.
The Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is requesting proposals under the North American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) for review during 2011. Preliminary proposals are due 22 August 2011; projects will start 1 January 2012.
Learning & Training Opportunities
Interested in known or suspected carcinogens in the environment or at work? CAREX Canada, a research project funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, will be holding workshops across Canada to share data on exposures collected from across Canada. These sessions will also be an opportunity to train people to use web-based tools that can help communities understand how people can be exposed to these pollutants, identify the sources, and evaluate toxicity.
If you have a role in health, community or resource planning, please contact Jenny Matthews (jenny@carexcanada) to get more information on workshop dates and locations.
Research Results
The first set of results from the First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES) are in from British Columbia.
Key Results for all BC Communities:
1. Overall, the nutritional quality of food intake is below what is required for optimal health but it is improved when traditional food is eaten.
2. Excess body weight (overweight and obesity) is a major health issue.
3. Food insecurity is an important problem.
4. Water quality is overall satisfactory but close monitoring is recommended.
5. Mercury exposure, as measured by mercury levels in hair and food intake, is not a health concern.
6. Chemical contamination of traditional food is not a health concern, but it is important to have the information that was collected in this study to monitor any future changes.
Highlights in Environmental Health News
Recent studies are increasingly linking diabetes to environmental contaminants… People with higher levels of pesticides and other pollutants in their blood may be more likely to get type 2 diabetes, suggests a new study of elderly Swedes.The findings add to a growing body of evidence that these chemicals might drive changes in the body that lead to diabetes, researchers say.
A study on PCBs and diabetes has been published: Congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls and the prevalence of diabetes in the Saku Control Obesity Program. Endocr J. 2011 May 7.
Pollutants role in birth defects clearer:Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons linked to neural tube defects. Babies who were exposed to certain organic pollutants in the womb are at a highly increased risk of neural tube defects leading to conditions such as spina bifida, according to researchers in China.
FNEHIN Update
During 2010 FNEHIN transferred it’s secretariat from the National Collaborating Center for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). Thank you to Dr. Laurie Chan and NCCAH for all their commitment and work to establish FNEHIN.
Thank you to Health Canada’s First Nations & Inuit Health Branch, Environmental Health Research Divisionwho provide financial support to FNEHIN.
New on the FNEHIN Website
Check out recent environmental health publications, link to interesting environmental health videos, and identify funding opportunities for organisations, communities and students. FNEHIN will be updating and posting a researcher database in July and will be developing it’s social networking sites over the summer…. stay tuned.
Please contact Melissa Pomeroy at AFN, Environmental Stewardship Unit at mpomeroy(at)afn.ca or 613-241-6789 ext. 294 (toll free at 1866-869-6789) if you would like to be involved with FNEHIN and/or you have information for the website or newsletter. Thank you!