A concern regarding the new WHO EMF IAC South African Report and Committee has been expressed as follows:
“The EMF project is a total farce headed by industry. WHO is completely captured by them. Do not look to them for anything!”
In response to this statement as it applies to South Africa:
It is easy to understand the motivation behind the statement. We get that. (There are many posts on our website concerning this particular topic.)
However, the concern appears to stem from a place of great misunderstanding and the significance of the 2021 NRF-WHO-IAC ZA report.
Simply put – we [South Africa] are doing our own independent thing, for the people, by the people. (It is important to note that this applies only to those who want to get involved, are willing to learn, and who are genuinely dedicated to bring about effective change and accountability for the health of all the people of South Africa.)
The following might aid in better understanding:
The National Research Foundation (NRF) has taken over the role of WHO IAC country reporting and advisory body.
National Research Foundation:
The NRF is governed by the NRF ACT, an ACT in legislation and is government supported. It is an independent body of government which is part of the Department of Science and Technology. It includes the NPA, Medical Research Council and the Human Rights Commission.
The WHO IAC ZA committee is made-up of the following:
- Department of Science and Innovation
- Department of Health
- Department of Defence
- Department of Agriculture and Forestry Services
- Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
- Department of International Relations and Cooperation
- Ethics committees
- International Science Council
The NRF was elected to head the committee due to its demonstrated skills, experience in such matters, and endorsed international nominations.
It is the voice of the nation, as stipulated in the report. Public interest is a common concern amongst citizens and is significant in the management and affairs of local, provincial and national government and is rooted in the SA Constitutional Human Rights (1996) as a promotion of social accountability.
The concern expressed missed the following from the report:
Excerpts from the report:
The purpose of the effort is twofold.
Firstly it seeks to create and house a database of legislation pertaining to EMF exposure.
Secondly, it seeks to promote dialogue on the risks related to EMF exposure.
The EMF project is a multidisciplinary research endeavor integrating efforts from multiple sectors. Of particular import to South Africa is research into EMF exposure risks, EMF shielding modifications, and bio-adaptation mitigation options related to climate change. The EMF Project is endorsed by the Surgeon General, and as such, the Nation’s doctor is provided with the best available scientific information on how to improve health outcomes and reduce the risk of illness and injury. The mission of the EMF Project is to protect, promote, and advance the health of our Nation.
…“ it seeks to support policy formation through developing and nurturing expertise across disciplines. The benefit of more rigorous and fact-based standards will assist in achieving transparent, effective, and accountable government in South Africa.”
New policies and legislations regarding EMF exposure
SA still does not have an EMF projection standard in place, nor the legislation to govern the import, use, and application of laser devices for medical applications. The 2017 government study – following reviews by multiple organs of state – does endorse a means of achieving a working EMF protection standard within 12-16 months. However, current political obstacles are curtailing this development. It is suggested that these obstacles are confronted in order to reduce social unrest and resource expenses related to increasing litigation.
Further areas of public concern and concomitant national responses
Utilities SMART meters: Similar to both FR and NL, in SA some members of the public, and municipal pilot projects have submitted complaints about SMART meter installations. One of the main complaints surrounds RF emissions.
Energy transmission: Similar to Germany, with increasing electrical energy demands and services the generation and transmission of power is requiring increasing proximity between the generating source, transmission line, and the population. This is also evident with the expansion of renewable energy and the upgrading of existing infrastructure. There is general consensus that additional precautionary and safety measures are required when erecting or significantly altering low-frequency installations and direct current installation.
Possibilities must be exhausted to minimize the EM and EMF generated by the respective installation using state-of-the-art processes taking into account the circumstances within the respective installers’ sphere of influence.
Electrohypersensitivity (EHS): as per the report https://www.emfsa.co.za/ehs-research-update-june-2021/s.
ICD code billing guidance and encompassed treatments within medical/health insurance schemes:
Plans are underway to work toward bringing forward advances in medicine related to the domain of this report. For example, rTMS, PBM, PDT, cryotherapy, NBW, DDW, electro-, etc…
The number of EMF and Climate Change related complaints received by various government departments has been increasing over time.
In the past, these have not been handled optimally, but there is now a general consensus to strive toward cooperative solutions and synergy. One of the proposed means employed is to increase both technical and non-technical communication strategies. This will encourage the nation’s inhabitants to become citizen scientists in a pedagogy that is aligned with this committees’ voice.
Examples of the application of sub-molecular medical sciences include:
1. Training of medical doctors (CPD training).
2. Improvement of medical services.
3. Improvement of human and animal health by mitigating environmental effects, and developing resilience programs to combat climate change and EMF.
4. Development of updated teaching curricula for 1st and 2nd-year medical students in biophysics.
Public citizen science engagement and accelerated learning projects. Plans are currently underway to develop a cost-effective animated education series; DIY projects for at-home and/or government projects; and a Netflix series. The strategic reason for these communication mediums is a move toward enhancing accessibility requirements and making the material available in multiple languages, with subtitles, and other features addressing disability needs.
In conclusion – these are new, positive and exciting developments that involve a lot of very hard work and dedication, and will continue to do so in the future. Certainly remarkable and not all doom and gloom.
Therefore we ask the question – How does the above translate to “The EMF project is a total farce headed by industry. WHO is completely captured by them. Do not look to them for anything!”?
If anything, it is the above statement that is a total farce.
The South African National Report is available from:
Academia
ResearchGate
EMFSA
An even better understanding can be gained by listening to the chair of the committee explaining the implications of the WHO International EMF Project – IAC – South Africa National Report 2021 https://youtu.be/uJIahstO3LM?t=1