international agencies in the environment
and health process
7.
of sustainable health systems with identified sustainable procurement.
In general, this can be instrumental in building up the capacity of Member States to achieve better health and environmental performance.
An example of a possibly relevant international financial institution is the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group – the world’s largest multilateral investor in health and education services to improve standards of quality and efficiency. In the field of public health and education systems, the International Finance Corporation works closely with the World Bank and low-income country governments to provide high-quality health care or educational services; its strategic priorities, however,
include social and environmental sustainability.
There are also recent examples of financial support within the framework of international development cooperation, through the International Development Association of the World Bank.
It contributes support to projects in agribusiness, health and water management in such countries as Albania, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Viet Nam. Such collaboration benefits the donors and the health, environment and development of those receiving support. Another example of support from a financial institution is that of the Swedish International Development Fund. The International Development Association aids in regional and bilateral cooperation Box 4. Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
Europe
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe is an international organization. Its mission is to assist governments in addressing environmental issues, and it is an active contributor to major environmental processes and initiatives at the EU, European and global levels, such as sustainable development and climate change. The Center has been active in the European environment and health process from its inception and contributes to the implementation of the Parma Declaration and the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe. More specifically, the Center cooperates closely with environment, health, and education authorities and with schools to enable them – through analysis and guidelines – to improve the environmental conditions in the schools within and beyond the EU.
Center-coordinated projects include the Schools Indoor Pollution and Health Observatory Network in Europe (SINPHONIE) (REC, 2010), which has a special focus on schools and child-care settings and is aimed at capitalizing on existing knowledge and information and extending the range of information available.
SINPHONIE covers old and new EU Member States and some accession countries, using standardized procedures to develop policies, guidelines and good practices, to ensure the best indoor environment for children in schools within the EU. The project involved complex research on health, environment, transport and climate change, with the aim of improving air quality in schools and kindergartens in the interests of children’s health in 25 countries.
The School Environment and Respiratory Health of Children (SEARCH) initiative, another project, focuses on environment and health research and is implemented within the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe Priority Goal 3 on air quality (focused on indoor air quality) and children’s health (REC, 2014). The project has two main components: (a) environmental
monitoring, health assessment and energy consumption assessment; and (b) environment and health capacity building in schools.
in eastern Europe, in sustainable development, institutional reform and such emerging issues as the impacts related to climate change. Besides these examples of financial support, the
involvement of international NGOs (such as the Health and Environment Alliance) in the environment and health process strengthens the measurable results of progress in environment and health.
References
Martuzzi M, Pasetto R, Martin-Olmedo P, editors (2014). Industrially contaminated sites and health. J Environ Public Health; Special Issue (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/
si/480565/, accessed 27 June 2014).
REC (2010). SINPHONIE: Schools Indoor Pollution and Health: Observatory Network in Europe [website]. Szentendre: Regional Environmental Center (http://www.sinphonie.eu/, accessed 27 June 2014).
REC (2014). SEARCH: School Environment and Respiratory Health of Children [website].
Szentendre: Regional Environmental Center (http://www.search.rec.org/, accessed 27 June 2014).
UNECE, WHO Regional Office for Europe (2012). No one left behind: good practices to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation in the pan-European region. Geneva: United Nations (http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=29170, accessed 27 June 2014).
WHO Regional Office for Europe (2010). Parma Declaration on Environment and Health.
Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe (http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/
noncommunicable-diseases/cancer/publications/2010/parma-declaration-on-environment-and-health, accessed 17 July 2014).
© World Health Organization/Christian Gapp
Introduction
Over the past 15 years, NGOs have shown their effectiveness in amplifying the health and environment message to the widest possible audience and in developing solutions to implement the Parma Declaration time-bound goals to reduce children’s exposure to environmental contaminants.
Civil society has been an active contributor in the WHO environment and health process since its inception.
Following the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, in London in 1999, NGOs from both the environment and health sectors were able to meaningfully participate as official members of the European Environment and Health Committee.
They have brought diverse expertise, grassroots mobilization, and impetus for more protective environmental health policies.
To reflect the views and positions of the heterogeneous NGO community, a mechanism of representation has been used. Its representation is comprised of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) for the health sector, which has represented almost 100 NGOs, and Eco Forum which, through Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), represents about 150 NGOs in the environmental sector.
Leading up to (and during) the ministerial conferences, NGO activities have been very important. These activities included:
promoting ambitious goals and targets for the Parma Declaration; involving a broad range of stakeholders from all sectors; showcasing best practices and environmental health achievements Europe-wide; and providing material to inform policy-makers, media and the general public about why the environment is an asset to our health, and to that of our children. Moreover, NGOs have also been instrumental in scrutinizing and challenging governments on commitments they have made in the implementation phase.
The participation of these pan-European networks represent hundreds of diverse types of NGOs, ranging from women’s and children’s groups to health professionals (see for example Box 5), patient groups and consumer organizations in almost every country. Their participation is a key component in the vitality of the process, leveraging and multiplying the actors involved and ensuring that it has political relevance and societal meaning.
Besides their continuous participation in the political debate, the NGO advocacy role has been exercised through numerous initiatives at the national and international level, carried out in line with the Parma commitments. Some examples follow.