By PNA/Xinhua Nairobi – The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) called on countries on Wednesday to guard against the spread of diseases from animals such as Ebola and Zika virus as it launched a draft report outlining the link between the environment and health. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said with the poorest people mostly worst-affected by the failure to ensure a clean environment for all, the world risked falling into a bigger global disease burden, 25 percent of which could be attributed to environmental factors. “There are indicators which speak to the linkages between health and environment,” Steiner said in a keynote speech at the opening of a preparatory meeting of the UN Environment Assembly’s (UNEA) Open Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives, attended by about 300 government officials. Steiner said at least 1,000 children die daily from diarrhea due to poor sanitation and hygiene, including unsafe drinking water, and the [...]
