July 2012: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has published the latest issue of its quarterly newsletter, “Making It: Industry for Development,” with a focus on the theme “The Health of Nations.” The issue considers linkages between productive activities and health concerns.

This issue of “Making It” includes an article highlighting the need for a change in consumption patterns, in order to live within the Earth’s limited resources. “No escaping the numbers” argues that Asia cannot copy the West’s consumption patterns, but must instead adopt a “constrained form of capitalism,” under which: environmental externalities are accurately priced; consumption is constrained; resources are strictly managed; and, where necessary, the use of certain resources are curbed or banned.

The issue also features an article about gas flaring and its impacts on the environment, economy and health. The article highlights the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) public-private partnership, which was established to share global best practices and support the implementation of country-specific programmes, in order to overcome barriers to reducing gas flaring.

The issue contains other articles on: the role of the pharmaceutical industry in meeting the global health challenge; the “Killer Jeans Campaign” to stop practices that are harmful to the health of workers within the fashion industry; and youth’s attitudes to climate change and carbon footprinting. [Publication: Making It Magazine, 2nd Quarter 2012]