Highlights | ||
 | A groundbreaking process: 20 years of environment and health collaboration | |
| On the first day of the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, taking place in Parma on 10–12 March 2010, discussions focused on twenty years of collaboration between the environment and health sectors in Europe, and what has been achieved so far. Several speakers noted that the process begun in Europe is being reproduced around the world. | ||
| Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health opens today | |
| The Ministerial Conference taking place between 10 and 12 March in Parma, Italy brings together over 800 participants, including ministers of health and of the environment, representatives of the European Commission, intergovernmental and nongovernmental stakeholders, scientists and youth delegates. They will review the impact of national and cross-border environmental policies on the health status of people in the WHO European Region, and agree a new way forward. | ||
| Respiratory disease kills 1 in every 2000 babies in Europe | |
More than ever, children's health is at risk from a changing environment.
The health impacts of environmental risk factors - inadequate water and sanitation, unsafe home and recreational environments, lack of spatial planning for physical activity, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and hazardous chemicals - are amplified by recent developments such as financial constraints, broader socioeconomic and gender inequalities and more frequent extreme climate events. They pose new challenges for health systems to reduce deaths and diseases through effective environmental health interventions.
The Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, organized by WHO/Europe and hosted by Italy, is the next milestone in the European environment and health process, now in its twentieth year. Focused on protecting children's health in a changing environment, the Conference will drive Europe's agenda on emerging environmental health challenges for the years to come.
