The Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health will define the future environment and health priorities and commitments for the WHO European Region, with a focus on addressing the health dimensions of the triple environmental crisis of climate
change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution.
The Conference will take into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities for a healthy recovery on the path towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This will be the seventh conference in a series started in 1989
under the framework of the European Environment and Health Process (EHP).
In spite of progress achieved over the past 30 years, more than 1.4 million deaths per year in the Region are still attributable to environmental risk factors, with air pollution being the leading one. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the depth and breadth
of systemic failures in preventing, recognizing and addressing the environmental root causes of zoonotic diseases, linking the pandemic to the concomitant triple environmental crisis.
This drives a need to rethink governance, policies and action for health and the environment. We need to create capacities to embrace integrated, transdisciplinary and multisectoral approaches that fully recognize and act upon these interlinkages, forging
partnerships to advance action that leaves no one behind.
Under the patronage of the President of Hungary Ms Katalin Novák, the Conference will:
- catalyse concrete action and collaboration across countries and sectors to address the pressing environmental threats to health in the context of recovery from the pandemic and the energy crisis;
- provide an opportunity to present good practices and share knowledge and experience;
- launch new partnerships addressing major environment and health concerns;
- promote youth engagement in environment and health policy and action; and
- culminate in the adoption of a negotiated ministerial declaration with concrete commitments to accelerate action on:
- o addressing the health dimensions of climate change, environmental pollution, land degradation and biodiversity loss; and
- o recovering from the pandemic by promoting a healthy and just transition.
The Conference programme features high-level political segments. To facilitate interaction at the political level, it includes a ministerial lunch on 6 July, and receptions hosted by the Government of Hungary and the WHO Regional Director for
Europe on 5 and 6 July, respectively. Throughout the Conference, there will also be opportunities to participate in parallel events, an exhibition and site visits.
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