Public Health

AFSP Advocates Press Congress on $549.6M Lifeline Funding Push

Washington – September 16, 2026 -- Seventeen Volunteer Advocates from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will meet with members of Congress from September 16-18 to push for sustained federal funding and pending legislation on suicide prevention, arriving weeks after Congress passed the Youth Poisoning Protection Act (H.R. 1442/S. 289), which now awaits presidential signature.

Advocates from 14 states demand $549.6 million for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The delegation, sponsored for a second year by AFSP's Illinois chapter during National Suicide Prevention Month, is lobbying for robust funding of the 988 Lifeline at $549.6 million, a $38 million allocation for the CDC's Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program (CSP), and $2.548 billion for the National Institute of Mental Health.

Kaiser Permanente Commits $5M to Colorado Schools on Absence Crisis

Denver – – September 15, 2026 -- Kaiser Permanente is committing more than $5 million over the next three years to Colorado school districts, targeting rising student chronic absence and staff burnout that have strained education budgets statewide.

Kaiser Permanente Targets Chronic Absence Tied to Health Conditions

The multiyear investment addresses chronic absence rates in Colorado schools that run higher than the national average, a trend the insurer links to underlying health conditions. Districts currently lack granular data to identify why students are missing class, limiting their ability to intervene before absences compound into long-term health and academic setbacks.

Global Action Grant Backs Smoking Cessation for Kidney Donors

New York – September 15, 2026 -- Global Action to End Smoking has issued a grant to The University of Chicago to expand smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction support for prospective living kidney donors, aiming to increase the pool of eligible donors amid a severe organ shortage.

Kidney demand vastly outstrips supply as nearly 4,000 died waiting in 2023

More than 109,000 people are on the U.S. organ transplant waiting list, with roughly 95,000 awaiting a kidney, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations reported that nearly 4,000 individuals died in 2023 while waiting for a kidney donation. Because donation centers typically require donors to abstain from smoking before surgery due to elevated complication risks, tobacco use disqualifies otherwise willing living donors.

Saxony Heat Check: DUH Maps Green Loss, 550 Heat Deaths

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- Saxony recorded temperatures as high as 41.5 degrees Celsius this summer, with an estimated 550 heat-related deaths registered in the state by mid-August, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The German Environmental Aid organization (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) has conducted a heat-vulnerability assessment across Saxon municipalities in response, examining how prepared local governments are for extreme temperature events.

Record heat hit Klitzschen bei Torgau at 40.3 degrees and Bad Muskau at 41.5 degrees

The 2026 summer set new local temperature records in Saxony, with Klitzschen bei Torgau reaching 40.3 degrees Celsius and Bad Muskau reaching 41.5 degrees Celsius. The Robert Koch Institute attributed roughly 550 deaths in the state to heat exposure through mid-August.