CAREC met with partners in Bonn – a new round of the "Environment and Health" programme development
May 16-17, 2017, CAREC participated at the 20th meeting of the Joint Convention/WHO Task Force on the Health Effects of the Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution in Bonn (Germany).
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The Task Force on Health supports the work of the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and provides an evidence-based assessment of the risks to health related to air pollution.
The 20th meeting of the Task Force on Health gathered representatives of the Parties to the Convention as well as the experts invited to assess scientific issues on the agenda. In particular, the meeting reflected on past accomplishments and future direction of the Task Force on Health and also presented an update on international policies and processes on air quality and health, including the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in June 13-15, 2017 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The meeting provided a platform to discuss communication and public health messages concerning air pollution both at the national and local levels, and also identified priorities for the work plan for 2018-2019, such as: consolidating existing evidence of health outcomes of exposure to air pollution; developing of further methodologies and quantification of the direct and indirect effects of long-range transboundary air pollution on human health.
Information about "Environment and Health" programme (EHP) was also presented during the meeting. The goal of the programme is to identify the relationship between human health and the environment, helping to reduce the number of environmental factors which have a negative impact on the health of the population in the Central Asian region.
Among the most significant results of the meeting is the reached agreement with Mr. Hans-Guido Mucke, Scientific Manager Environment Hygiene, Federal Environment Agency, WHO Collaborating Center for Air Quality Management, regarding the distribution of CAREC information via Agency’s NEWSLETTER.
Publication of EHP materials, such as an updated concept on and the report upon the results of the regional advisory meeting of the Central Asian countries and the WHO representatives on environmental and health protection issues conducted in March of this year in Almaty, will serve as the first step in frames of the cooperation.
Besides, the discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Paunovic, Head of Office, Department of Infectious Diseases, Health and Environmental Safety, WHO European Center for Ecology and Health, took place in WHO in Bonn premises. The main topics of discussion were the following: possible options on resources mobilization to start the pilot projects implementation in Central Asian countries, further WHO role in project design preparation, as well as in the area of interrelations with donors and financial institutions.
The following step of activities in the framework of EHP development is participation of CAREC in the work of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in the Czech Republic, where all stakeholders, donors, and government delegations will gather together to discuss priority directions within the framework of tasks concerning environmental and health sectors and elaboration of Action Strategy for the next 10 years.