European ministers sign up to children's environment and health action plan
More than 40 European ministers, including representatives from the EU, have given their backing to the children's environment and health action plan for Europe (CEHAPE), following a World Health Organization (WHO) ministerial conference in Budapest, Hungary. The action plan contains a series of measures to reduce the impact on children's health of air pollution, water, chemicals and injuries, which together account for one third of all deaths and diseases in those aged 0 to 19. These measures include limiting the access of traffic, especially those using diesel, to school areas; establishing monitoring and smog alert systems in cities; banning smoking in public places, especially schools and health facilities; ensuring waste water is disposed away from schools and public beaches; monitoring chemical contaminants in water and soil; and introducing and enforcing legislation on the lead content of petrol and building materials. 'Tomorrow's children will be our judges,' said Dr Marc Danzon, WHO regional director for Europe. 'The care we have taken today in crafting these policy options is the legacy of European leadership in health and environment, and the further efforts needed to shepherd these recommendations into national and regional and global realities will be our testing ground.' The action plan was signed on behalf of the European Union by Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström, and Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Pavel Telicka. The EU's endorsement of the WHO action plan follows its adoption of a European environment and health action plan on 9 June, which stresses the importance of research in better understanding the environment-health link, and also places an emphasis on the protection of children's health. Addressing ministers in Budapest, Commissioner Wallström said: 'Promoting a healthy environment for our children is a major task [...and] is a challenge that requires cooperation from all parties involved [...]. I trust that the CEHAPE and the EU environment and health action plan will jointly support each other in meeting our common goals of promoting a more 'child-friendly' environment and taking another step along the road to sustainable development.' Having acknowledged that marked differences exist across Europe and among various age groups, ministers stressed the need for targeted action in specific countries, regions or populations, and agreed that national action plans would be drawn up by 2007. 'We now need to take into account the regional disparities in Europe, and in particular, the specific requirements of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe,' said Pavel Telicka during his address. 'The challenge for the future will be to ensure that within the priority areas defined [...] there is a focus on addressing disparities and specific regional needs and requirements within the European region.'