Priorities and commitments for environment and health in the WHO European Region

At the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, countries of the WHO European Region adopted the Budapest Declaration, which prioritizes urgent, wide-ranging action on health challenges related to climate change, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss and land degradation along with, and in the context of, recovery from COVID-19.

Within the Declaration, the “Roadmap for healthier people, a thriving planet and a sustainable future 2023–2030” guides countries in accelerating the transitions needed towards making communities sustainable. The Roadmap explains why urgent action is needed in a particular area, offers a list of commitments countries can consider, and suggests measures to achieve them.

By adopting the Declaration, countries committed to tackling pollution; ensuring everyone has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene; integrating nature and biodiversity considerations into policies; and promoting a clean, safe and healthy built environment. Additional commitments target health systems and youth organizations.

The European Environment and Health Process (EHP) Partnerships, a new mechanism for the implementation of commitments, was launched during the Conference. The EHP Partnerships bring together countries and partners with a shared interest in a specific thematic area to work together on joint projects and activities.

The Conference was attended by more than 600 participants, including representatives of environment and health ministries from 43 Member States in the Region, representatives of stakeholders responsible for shaping environment and health policies in the Region (including youth representatives and representatives of subnational and local levels of government), observers and guests.

Source: https://www.who.int/europe/event/seventh-ministerial-conference-on-environment-and-health