The Emerging Environmental Health Risks and Challenges for Tomorrow: Prospects for Malawi

This paper gives an overview of the current and emerging environmental health risks and the projected challenges for the future. The aim is to create awareness and incite debate among Environmental Health Professionals on solutions for the risks and challenges as they celebrate the “World Environmental Health Day” to be held on 26 September, 2013. The environmental health risks have been classified according to the five pillars of environmental health with climate change risks and challenges cutting across all the pillars. These include emerging risks and future challenges related to food consumption, pollution of water resources, air and soil, use of electronic products and electronic waste, poor sanitation, poor housing and those arising from peoples’ occupation. If not controlled, these risks and challenges may result into increased prevalence of accidents, injuries, communicable and non-communicable diseases. We propose partnerships, stronger political will, innovations and research as key factors in solving such problems.