Environment and Health

Environmental issues – global pollution, biodiversity collapse and climate change – are of the utmost importance for the Public Health community and health sector. This sector itself presents a substantial contribution to environmental degradation. To tackle these issues strong collaboration among professionals from different backgrounds is essential. This section pursues wide professional collaborations to explore holistic approaches to health, trans-disciplinary fields and social movements of Planetary Health, One Health, EcoHealth, Global Health and Health in All Policies.

This section endeavors to bring together the complementary principles of these different perspectives and to advocate for them. It provides a platform for the exchange of information between policymakers, practitioners and researchers working on environment and health. Its aim is to join expertises to engender know-how and tools for a future that is environmentally-friendly, sustainable and equal for all. The Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Green Deal are its flagship policy documents for developing different fields of research, building networks and producing robust, scientifically sound evidence on Environment and health.

This section was established in 2006 in Montreux.

In recent years, many European initiatives in the field of environment related diseases have been developed. In June 2004, the EU Commission produced a Communication on the European Environment and Health Action Plan for 2004-2010. At the same time the World Health Organisation developed the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe (CEHAPE). In several countries environmental health specialists have been trained. These initiatives not only strengthen research to understand the link between sources of pollution and health effect, but also stimulate the development of policies, improve communication and build capacity by training health care providers.

Several Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) have been working in the field of health and environment, such as the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE), the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES). In line with the recommendations of these NGO’s and of the EU Environment and Health Action Plan for 2004-2010, it is necessary to increase the capacity in the field of health and environment. The public health sector has the best equipped group of professionals to increase the capacity in the health and environment field. There are some initiatives under way to create more training possibilities in Europe in the field of environment and health.