Bacground information
In 2004, European governments signed a Declaration on a Children’s Environmental and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) in Budapest.
In 2007, the World Health Organisation (European Region) will carry out the mid term review of CEHAPE on the progress made by governments to reduce environmental health risks.
This will be done during the Intergovernmental Mid Term Review (IMR) Conference, 13-15 June in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian government.
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Eco Forum and ISDE Austria will be coordinating the NGO input and events to this conference.
Prior to the Vienna Conference, there will be an NGO Side Event on 11-12 June, where organisations from across Europe will share with each other, and ministerial representatives, how they tackled children’s environmental and health challenges such as:
reducing the rate of childhood diseases such as asthma, respiratory, neurodevelopmental and cancer through more protective environmental policies in the areas of air quality and hazardous chemicals management.
decreasing accidents, injuries and prevalence of childhood obesity
improving access to clean water and sanitation to reduce diarrhoea diseases.
Preparatory meeting for NGOs to get involved in the Vienna Conference
The NGO preparatory meeting for the Vienna Intergovernmental Mid-Term Review (IMR) for the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE) took place on 28th February in Brussels.
Over 50 organizations from countries across the Pan-European Region participated.
The main outcomes from the meeting:
1. Agreement on a NGO strategy to coordinate input and increase participation in the Pan European Health and Environment Process.
2. Setting up of four virtual ad-hoc working groups along the lines of the CEHAPE four regional priority goals to efficiently and transparently develop NGO input.
Each group is coordinated by two NGOs. The groups are as follows:
RPG 1: Access to Clean Water and Sanitation * Coordination by: Women in Europe for a Common Future and Earth Forever (Bulgaria)
RPG 2: Accidents, Injuries and Obesity, Built Environment * Coordination by: European Child Safety Alliance and ISDE Austria RPG 3: Air Quality and Reducing Respiratory and Allergies * Coordination by: European Respiratory Society and Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment
RPG 4: Chemicals, Radiation and Reducing Neurodevelopmental Diseases * Coordination by: Health & Environment Alliance and ECO Accord
The working groups will develop the issue specific input for: the programme of the 4 parallel sessions at the NGO Conference; recommendations; NGO interventions at the IMR. There has been a fifth working group set up which will be responsible for drafting the NGO declaration.
Timetable
NGO Conference, June 11-12
NGO participation in IMR, June 13-15
Best Practice Award
NGO Conference
The NGO Conference will be coordinated by ISDE Austria, and jointly organised by a number of NGOs including HEAL, WECF and Eco Forum. The aim of the event is to bring together between 30-50 NGOs with a good balance (so that east and west is represented equally as well as environment and health issues are covered appropriately) in order to:
Highlight and report on good practice and progress by the non-governmental sector in reducing environmental risks to children’s health.
Agree on recommendations to governments to strengthen and further implement the Budapest Declaration and CEHAPE in the lead up to the 2009 Ministerial.
More information: http://www.env-health.org/a/2478
If you would like to contribute to this process, please send an email with your name and organisational details to Marta from HEAL.
