Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment
The call for action to address children’s environmental health at the Third WHO International Conference on Children's Health and the Environment in Busan, Republic of Korea (June 2009) asked WHO to facilitate the development of a global plan of action to improve children's environmental health and regularly monitor and report on its progress. This draft Global Plan of Action is designed to provide a road map for WHO, governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and all concerned stakeholders to contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed development declarations, commitments and goals, in particular those related to reducing infant mortality (MDG 4) and ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG 7).
As recognized in the Busan Pledge, the successful implementation of this global plan of action requires strong partnerships and close networking. Collaboration between and among WHO collaborating centres and international organizations, such as UNICEF and UNEP, national and regional organizations, regulatory bodies, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations is essential for putting into action the specific components of the proposed plan and gaining the most benefit from limited resources.
Children's environmental health activities have multiple links with other parallel activities, such as environmental protection, climate change adaptation, primary health care, specialized hospital-based health care, emergency response, disaster risk reduction, school activities and housing initiatives, and many other activities. It thus becomes clear that collaborative links have to be set up for each one of the objectives in this plan. Also, strong collaboration across WHO programmes and with the WHO Regional and Country Offices will be necessary in order to ensure success.
If you would like to contribute to the Global Plan of Action, please respond to email@example.com identifying the specific part(s) of the plan to which you can contribute.