11/09/2026
🌏🌱PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT & PROTECTING OUR HEALTH:
Pollution and poor waste management can contribute to risks affecting the air, water, and environments where people live. This is why protecting the environment also means protecting ourselves and our communities!
Environmental health is a subject area which, at its core, aims to understand interactions of environmental factors with biological systems. It examines the effects of harmful agents or health stressors in the environment on human health, encompassing factors such as air, water, good, and soil, along with broader issues like climate change.
Following the DOH Health Promotion Playbook, addressing concerns about environmental health can be translated into simple, everyday healthy behaviors. Particularly, the Playbook includes environmental health as a priority area & promotes practical, evidence-based health promotion strategies that can be adapted to local communities.
So, while reducing plastic waste and preventing pollution are important, personal protective and hygiene practices matter too!
Protect yourself by:
1. Washing your hands regularly🧼
2. Wearing a mask when appropriate, particularly when exposed to poor air quality or when recommended for respiratory illness 😷
3. Using safe and clean water 🚰
4. Disposing of and segregate waste properly 🗑️
5. Reducing unnecessary single-use plastics ♻️
6. Keeping your surroundings clean 🫧
🌊 The Great Pacific Garbage Patch shows us how our everyday actions, waste management practices, and relationship with our environment can affect the health of our communities.
We may not be able to clean up the entire Pacific, but we can start where we are by making responsible choices everyday. 🍀
Take care of the environment & take care of yourself! 💚