Children's Environmental Health International Initiatives
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You're receiving this newsletter because you have subscribed to the Healthy Environments for Children Alliance Children’s Environmental Health International Initiatives This is an international mailing list provided by WHO and UNEP dedicated to promoting healthy environments for children Sep/Oct 2019 UN CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT 2019 CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS Major announcements by government and private sector leaders at the United Nations Climate Press Releases Action Summit boosted climate action momentum and demonstrated growing recognition that the Strengthening UN Environment Programme pace of climate action must be rapidly important to the Nordic countries accelerated. An impressive 77 countries Representatives from the Nordic countries— committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and net zero by 2050, while over 100 business Sweden—met in Nairobi with the UN Environment leaders and asset owners holding over $2 trillion Programme (UNEP) Secretariat during two days pledged to align with the Paris Agreement. Health in October. These annual Nordic consultations are took centre stage at the Summit, as 41 national a part of the countries’ long-term partnership with and 71 city governments, representing 10 per UNEP. During the two days of consultations, the cent of the global population, committed to Nordic countries demonstrated that they are achieving clean air that is safe to breathe by 2030 strong believers in multilateralism, have a shared through WHO’s Clean Air Initiative. A new interest in the global environment – as well as a philanthropic fund to tackle air pollution, joint approach to handling environmental the Clean Air Fund, was also launched at the UN challenges. They all believe that UNEP is in a Summit and has thus far earmarked $50 million unique position to promote global environmental for air pollution projects in three countries. In sustainability. They also noted that the closing the Summit, UN Secretary-General organization needs to be strengthened further to António Guterres said: “You have delivered a play this critical role more effectively. UNEP boost in momentum, cooperation and ambition. (31/10/2019) But we have a long way to go. We need more concrete plans, more ambition from more coun- Inaugural environmental and health school takes tries and more businesses. We need all financial place in Bonn institutions, public and private, to choose, once In response to rapidly changing environmental and for all, the green economy.” and health needs, the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH) has developed UN Climate Action Summit 2019 closing the Environment and Health School. The statement programme is designed using a variety of lesson formats and interactive sessions and focuses on GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE areas of environmental health that have been CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO A HEALTHY identified by the Member States as priorities. ENVIRONMENT ECEH aims to support Member States to On 22-23 October 2019, the Global Initiative to strengthen their capacities to respond effectively Advance Children’s Right to a Healthy to the diverse environmental health challenges. Environment hosted its second consultation, WHO EURO (31/10/2019) focusing on the East Asia Pacific region. It brought together almost 100 experts, children and As climate shocks intensify, UN food agencies young people to discuss key environmental urge more support for Southern Africa’s hungry issues facing children in the region, and to people promote collaboration and tangible solutions to A record 45 million people across the 16-nation promote children’s rights in the face of these Southern African Development Community challenges. The initiative, which was launched (SADC) will be severely food insecure in the next earlier this year with its first consultation for the six months, United Nations food agencies have Latin America and Caribbean region, consists of warned. The Food and Agriculture Organization a series of expert meetings set to take place (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural around the world between 2019 and 2021, Development (IFAD) and the World Food culminating in a final global consultation to draw Programme (WFP) are calling for urgent funding together key recommendations, principles and to avert a major hunger crisis and for the outcomes, shaped by children, young people and international community to step up investment in experts, over the course of the initiative. These long-term measures to combat the impact of recommendations will form the basis for a Global climate shocks and build the capacity of Declaration/Charter on Children’s Right to a communities and countries to withstand them. Healthy Environment, with a view to this being There are more than 11 million people now adopted by Governments and other key experiencing "crisis" or "emergency" levels of food stakeholders. insecurity (IPC Phases 3 and 4) in nine Southern African countries: Angola, Zimbabwe, Global Initiative to Advance Children’s Right to a Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Healthy Environment Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho. FAO (31/10/2019) JOURNAL ARTICLES Youths from around the world champion wildlife Air Pollution protection Environmental crime has become the world's Pediatric psychiatric emergency department fourth-largest crime sector, growing at 2–3 times utilization and fine particulate matter: a case- the rate of the global economy. INTERPOL and crossover study the United Nations Environment Programme Acute exposure to ambient particulate (UNEP) estimate that natural resources worth up matter <2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) to US$258 billion are being stolen by criminal has been associated with adult psychiatric syndicates, depriving countries of their resources, exacerbations but has not been studied in revenues and development opportunities. The children. The objectives of this study were to World Youth Wildlife Summit took place in estimate the association between acute September at the Kruger National Park in South exposures to ambient (PM2.5) and psychiatric Africa, bringing together educators and emergency department (ED) utilization and to conservation leaders to discuss and address the determine if it is modified by community threat of wildlife crime. About 150 young deprivation. The study used a time-stratified conservationists from the Southern African case-crossover design to analyze all pediatric, Development Community and their counterparts psychiatric ED encounters at Cincinnati learned how to influence environmental policies at Children's Hospital Medical Centre in Cincinnati, national, regional and international levels. UNEP Ohio, from 2011 to 2015 (n=13,176). Conditional (25/10/2019) logistic regression models adjusted for temperature, humidity, and holiday effects were Colombo declaration calls for tackling global used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for a nitrogen challenge psychiatric ED visit 0-3 days after At a time when the world grapples with the ambient PM2.5 exposures, estimated at menace of air pollution killing 7 million people residential addresses using a spatiotemporal prematurely every year, Sri Lanka, with support model. This study found that short-term exposure from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), to ambient air pollution was associated with convened a two-day event at which member exacerbations of psychiatric disorders in children states came together to adopt what is being called one or two days after exposure. The study also the “Colombo Declaration” with an ambition to found that children living in low socio-economic halve nitrogen waste by 2030. neighbourhoods may be more susceptible to the While a critical element for building structures of effects of ambient air pollution when compared to living organisms and an essential element for the other children. survival of all living things, nitrogen overuse has Environmental Health Perspectives negative impacts on the planet, biodiversity and is a contributor to the climate crisis. UNEP Chemicals (24/10/2019) Heavy metal exposure has adverse effects on the New country profiles show changes in growth and development of preschool children environmental health inequalities The purpose of this study was to investigate the New country profiles released by the WHO associations between levels of lead (Pb), European Centre for Environment and Health cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and manganese show how countries across the WHO European (Mn) in the PM2.5 and blood and physical growth, Region have achieved reductions in some areas and development parameters including birth of environmental health inequalities. However, length and weight, height, weight, body mass work remains to be done in other areas. index (BMI), head circumference, and chest Environmental determinants are a major circumference in preschool children from Guiyu contributor to health and well-being, but are not (e-waste exposure area) and Haojiang (the distributed equally. In most countries, reference area). Remarkably, the children of disadvantaged population groups tend to be Guiyu had significantly lower birth weight and significantly more exposed to environmental risks. length, BMI, and chest circumference when Two major assessment reports published in 2012 compare to their peers from the reference area and 2019 reviewed the status of environmental (all p value < 0.05). Spearman correlation health inequalities within Member States of the analyses showed that blood Pb was negatively Region. The collection of country