In the April 2008 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), Drew et al. (2008) noted that global environmental health has evolved as a high priority for the entire environmental health community. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has invested considerable time and resources in conjunction with other U.S.-based and international organizations to study issues relevant to global environmental health. The NIEHS 2006-2011 Strategic Plan (NIEHS 2006), for example, puts a high priority on global environmental health research, capacity-building training, and international partnerships. If "global environmental health research" is defined as research conducted outside the United States on foreign populations or environmental samples, then the NIEHS has funded 57 global environmental health research projects in 37 countries at an estimated cost of Dollars 30 million between 2005 and 2007 (Drew et al. 2008). The NIEHS has contributed in other ways to the study of global environmental health, including support for intramural researchers involved in collaborations with foreign countries, training of foreign scientists, and support for scientific conferences and meetings to build capacity in other countries (Suk 2008). The NIEHS also recently sponsored a workshop to consider potential actions and activities related to the human health effects of climate change-perhaps the quintessential global environmental health issue (Hrynkow 2008).
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