Current and Upcoming Events
DISCLAIMER: The following does not represent a complete list of events relevant to healthy environments for children. It is a compilation of events registered through this Web site or sent to heca@who.int. HECA is not responsible for incomplete or incorrect information, or misspellings of the names of persons, organizations/ sponsoring bodies, or locations. HECA does not necessarily endorse the activities that are described, or the ways in which they were organized. The inclusion of these event descriptions indicates no preference by HECA for these events as against those that are not included.
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS)
November 1-7, 2003. Bangkok, Thailand.
Theme for Forum IV: Chemical Safety in a Vulnerable World
Events on: Protecting Children from Harmful Chemical Exposures
Organized by the IFCS, in collaboration with WHO and NGOs.
The events on HEC will aim at raising the awareness of participating countries, NGOs and other organizations about the need to promote healthy environments for children and reduce toxic exposures. They will focus on the promotion of chemical safety in the environments where children grow, learn and play, and where adolescents work. More information: http://www.who.int/ifcs/Forum4/award3.html.
Training workshop on Healthy Environments for Children: Challenges and opportunities for the Health Sector
November 23-25, 2003. Cebu, Philippines.
Organized by the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology, the Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology, MoH, WHO/HQ and WPRO, in collaboration with the American Academy of Paediatrics.
The Workshop will bring together physicians, nurses, and primary health care workers from different parts of the country, plus representatives from neighbouring Asian countries and non-governmental organizations. It will focus on (a) developmental lifestages and specific environmental threats to children (e.g. metals, pesticides, second-hand smoke, other), (b) use of indicators and tools/mechanisms for recording and reporting case data, and (c) estimating the health care cost of environmentally related paediatric diseases. For more information, contact: ogawah@wpro.who.int.
Third Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting
November 27-28, 2003. Evora, Portugal.
Organized by WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) and steered by the European Environment and Health Committee (EEHC).
Member States will exchange views about the two main policy outcomes of the Conference, the Conference declaration and the children’s environment and health action plan for Europe. The meeting will also discuss the priority issues of emerging/increasing importance (housing and health; health, energy and sustainable development) and whether to include extreme weather events and their effect on health among them.
http://www.euro.who.int/budapest2004/meetings/20030723_2.
Third ad hoc Working Group on Children’s Health and Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE)
2nd week December 2003 (exact dates to be confirmed).
Organized by WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) and steered by the European Environment and Health Committee (EEHC).
Final background document draft circulated for written comments by Member States. Final version of Ministerial document discussed. http://www.euro.who.int/budapest2004/20030707_2#Dec03.
21st International Neurotoxicology Conference
February 10-14, 2004, Honolulu, Hawaii
Theme: Infant and Child Neurotoxicity Studies: Subtle and Long-Term Effects
Organized by the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences/NIH.
The meeting will be focusing on MeHg, PCBs, Heptachlor and Other Persistent Pesticides Pollutants. http://www.neurotoxicology.com/defaultflash.htm
Environmental Burden of Disease (BOD) for Children Report
January 2004 (exact date to be confirmed). Udine, Italy.
Organized by WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO).
Assessment of BOD for the following environment risk factors: air pollution, water and sanitation, lead, and injuries. More information: http://www.euro.who.int/budapest2004/20030707_2#Jan04.
Fourth Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting
25-26 March 2004, St Julian, Malta.
Organized by WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) and steered by the European Environment and Health Committee (EEHC).
This meeting is expected to focus on final negotiations on the Budapest Conference declaration. The CEHAPE background and ministerial documents will be finalized and sent out to Member States. http://www.euro.who.int/budapest2004/meetings/20030723_2.
3rd International Conference on Children's Health and Environment
March 31- April 2, 2004. London.
Organised by the International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES) and by PINCHE project (Policy Interpretation Network on Children’s Health and Environment.
The conference is meant to be a world-wide platform dealing with health problems of children caused by important environmental influences. The objectives are: to provide an international forum for the latest research findings in paediatric environmental health; to provide insight in the activities in the field of science and policy interface; to define the relationship between environmental contaminants and children's health in the world; to identify opportunities to minimise childhood exposure to environmental contaminants; to build a multi-sectoral platform of knowledge at an international level; to offer a platform for existing networks like the EU-funded PINCHE; to develop a greater awareness among health professionals about children's health and the environment; and to initiate policy review and future directions in research in the field of children's environmental health. More information: http://www.pinche.hvdgm.nl/resource/pdf/london_1st_announcement.pdf.
12th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12)
April 19-30, 2004. New York, NY, USA. For CSD-12, the beginning of the first two-year cycle (2004-2005), the Commission will focus on the thematic clusters of water, sanitation and human settlements. As with every cycle in the new programme of work, CSD-12 will tackle this agenda using a number of cross-cutting issues, such as, inter-alia, health and sustainable development. The Healthy Environments for Children Alliance will have an event at CSD-12. More information: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm.
4th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health: “The Future of Our Children”
June 23-25, 2004. Budapest, Hungary.
Organized by WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) and steered by the European Environment and Health Committee (EEHC).
The Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (London, 1999) recognized the needs to address the rights of children, and their particular vulnerability, as well as to respond to emerging environmental concerns. On this ground, the next ministerial conference (Budapest, 2004) is focused on the theme “The future for our children” and an appropriate international instrument, the CEHAPE, is being developed with the aim of putting children's health on top of the political agenda for environment and health. The Conference is preceded by a series of intergovernmental meetings, to which all Member States are invited, which will negotiate the proposed CEHAP for Europe, as well as discuss the other priority issues on the agenda. Civil-society and intergovernmental organizations will also contribute to the Conference and will hold their own parallel events.
This Conference is the fourth in a series of Ministerial Conferences that have taken place (in Frankfurt 1989, Helsinki 1994; London 1999). The European Environment and Health Committee provides the steering group for the Conference. More information: http://www.euro.who.int/budapest2004.
Children's Environmental Health Global Forum
(2004. Date to be confirmed). Nairobi, Kenya.
The event is being co-hosted by the Kenya Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR-Kenya) based in Nairobi, Kenya, International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE) based in Geneva, Switzerland, Canadian Institute of Child Health (CICH), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Children's Environmental Health Network, based in Washington.
With over 700 delegates expected, plus international hook-up through electronic satellites, the Global Forum will reach thousands of interested people around the world. This four-day event will focus on science-oriented issues and capacity building. The Consultation proposed as main theme for the Conference the Specific vulnerability of children to environmental hazards, and a number of other themes. The 3-day conference would be preceded by a 1-day, introductory tutorial (optional course) to introduce participants to the main issues concerning Children’s Environmental Health. A community event involving the participation of children is proposed at the end of the event. Capacity building will be conducted through training workshops. For further information, please contact: psaoke@isde.org.