Libreville Declaration and Sustainable Development in Africa
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THE LIBREVILLE DECLARATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA SUMMARY KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE 2008 LIBREVILLE The Libreville Declaration on Health and CONFERENCE Environment in Africa is a policy statement that provides a cohesive and integrated framework to 1. To demonstrate the importance of recognising address human health and environment linkages on the interlinkages between the environment the continent. and human health to achieving sustainable development The Declaration was the main outcome of the 2. To promote an integrated approach to policy- first Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and making in the health and environment sectors Environment (IMCHE) held in Libreville, Gabon that values the services that ecosystems in 2008. The historic meeting was organised by provide to human health the World Health Organization (WHO) and the 3. To agree on specific actions required to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) leverage the needed changes in institutional in partnership with the Government of Gabon, and arrangements and investment frameworks for attended by ministers of health and ministers of the mitigating environmental threats to human environment from 52 African nations. health Signatories committed their countries to implementing 11 priority actions aimed at establishing an effective platform to address the environmental impacts on health. In the decade since Libreville, international environmental health priorities have evolved considerably with the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing the adverse impact of environmental threats on health requires an up-to-date and integrated strategy, anchored in the Libreville Declaration and aligned with the SDGs. A number of countries have now made significant progress towards securing the political commitment for catalysing the policy, institutional and investment changes required to reduce threats to health in support of sustainable development in Africa. LIBREVILLE DECLARATION: THE COMMITMENTS The Libreville Declaration commits signatory nations to 11 priority actions for addressing Africa’s most pressing health and environment challenges through an integrated approach to policy-making in the health and environment sectors. 1. Establishing a health-and- 7. Effectively implementing, environment strategic alliance, as national, sub-regional and the basis for plans of joint action regional mechanisms for enforcing compliance with 2. Developing or updating our international conventions and national, sub-regional and national regulations to protect regional frameworks in order to populations from health threats address more effectively the issue related to the environment of environmental impacts of health, through integration of these links in policies, strategies, regulations and national development plans 8. Setting up national monitoring and evaluation 3. Ensuring integration of agreed mechanisms to assess objectives in the areas of health performance in implementing and environment in national priority programmes and peer poverty reduction strategies by review mechanisms to learn implementing priority inter-sectoral from each other’s experience programmes at all levels, aimed at accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 9. Instituting the practice of (SDGs) systematic assessment of health and environment 4. Building national, sub-regional risks, in particular through the and regional capacities to better development of procedures to prevent environment-related assess impacts on health, and to health problems, through the produce national environment establishment or strengthening of outlook reports health and environment institutions 5. Supporting knowledge 10. Developing partnerships acquisition and management for targeted and specific in the area of health and advocacy on health and environment, particularly through environment issues applied research at local, sub- aimed at institutions and regional and regional levels, while communities including ensuring coordination of scientific youth, parliamentarians, and technical publications so as local governments, education to identify knowledge gaps and ministries, civil society and the research priorities and to support private sector education and training at all levels 6. Establishing or strengthening systems for health and 11. Achieving a balance in environment surveillance to allow the allocation of national measurement of interlinked health budgetary resources for and environment impacts and to inter-sectoral health and identify emerging risks, in order to environment programmes. manage them better LIBREVILLE DECLARATION: FROM 2008 TO THE PRESENT DAY • First Inter-Ministerial Conference for Health and Environment in Africa takes place in Libreville, Gabon • The Libreville Declaration on Health and 1 2008 Environment in Africa is adopted • The WHO-UNEP Joint Task Team (JTT) is established to support countries in achieving a coordinated implementation of the Libreville Declaration • First Meeting of Partners for the Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA), the coordination mechanism intended to support the implementation of the Libreville Declaration, takes place in Windhoek, Namibia 2 2009 • To facilitate the process of implementing the Declaration, the WHO-UNEP Joint Task Team develops the Situation Analysis and Needs Assessment (SANA) guide. The SANA process places ecosystems at its centre and assesses environment-related health factors and risks • Second Meeting of Partners for the Implementation of the Libreville Declaration takes place in Nairobi, Kenya • Second Inter-Ministerial Conference for Health and Environment in Africa opens in Luanda, Angola 3 2010 • The Luanda Commitment is signed for the implementation of the Libreville Declaration, focusing on specific priority areas • The SANA process is initiated in 17 countries and completed in 12 countries • The first SANA Synthesis Report is released • The third Inter-Ministerial Conference for Health and Environment is scheduled in Libreville, Gabon 4 2018 • The third Synthesis Report of SANA outcomes is released HEALTH AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS The second SANA report showed that 23% of all deaths in Africa are the result of avoidable environmental hazards, such as contaminated water, poor hygiene, inadequate sanitation, poor water resource management, use of unsafe fuels, atmospheric pollution, poor infrastructure. The disease burden in Africa as percentage of the global disease burden, in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Diarrhoea make up 60% of total Lower respiratory infections environmental Other unintentional injuries burden ICONS 50 Malaria Road traffic injuries ICONS Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Perinatal conditions 17 ICONS: COLOUR VERSION INVERSED ICONS 50 Ischaemic heart disease LEGEND ICONS 50 ICONS 50 Childhood cluster ICONS environmental ICONSICONSNO ZERO GOODfraction HEALTH QUALITY GENDER CLEAN WATER POVERTY HUNGER AND WELLBEING EDUCATION EQUALITY AND SANITATION Lead-caused MMR non- environmental Drownings 17 ICONS: COLOUR VERSION INVERSED 17 ICONS: COLOUR5050 VERSION INVERSED 17 ICONS:HIV/AIDS COLOUR VERSION17ICONSICONS ICONS: INVERSED COLOUR VERSION INVERSED ICONS 50 ICONS 50 0 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% ICONSICONS NO ZERO GOOD HEALTH QUALITY GENDER CLEAN WATER % of global disease burden in DALYS ICONS ICONS NO NOAFFORDABLEZEROPOVERTY AND DECENTZEROHUNGERGOOD HEALTH WORK AND INDUGOODQUALITYANDST WELLBEINGR HEALTHY, INNOVATION QUALITYEDUCATIONGENDERREDUCED SUSTAINABLEGENDEREQUALITYCLEAN WATER CITIES CLEANANDRESPONSIBLE SANITATION WATER POVERTY POVERTYCLEANHUNGER ENERGY ECONOMICHUNGERAND WELLBEING GROWTH ANDANDEDUCATION INFR WELLBEINGASTRUCTURE EDUCATIONEQUALITYINEQUALITIES ANDEQUALITYAND COMMUNITIES SANITATION ANDCONSUMPTION SANITATION Source: WHO AFRO. 2015. Continental challenges and change: environmental determinants of health in Africa AND PRODUCTION 1717 ICONS:ICONS: COLOURCOLOUR VERSIONVERSION INVERSEDINVERSED Adhering to the 11 priority actions laid out in the Libreville Declaration is essential to meeting the 17 ICONS: COLOUR VERSION INVERSED 17 ICONS: COLOUR VERSION INVERSED Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, specifically the following goals: NONO ZEROZERO GOODGOOD HEALTHHEALTH QUALITYQUALITY GENDERGENDER CLEANCLEAN WATERWATER AFFORDABLE AND DECENT WORK AND INDUSTRY, INNOVATION REDUCED SUSTAINABLE CITIES RESPONSIBLE NOPOVERTYPOVERTY ZEROHUNGERHUNGER NOANDGOODAND WELLBEING WELLBEING HEALTH ZEROEDUCATIONQUALITYEDUCATION EQUALITYGENDERGOODEQUALITY HEALTH ANDQUALITYCLEANAFFORDABLEAND SANITATIONSANITATION WATER AND DECENTAFFORDABLEGENDERCLEANCLIMATE ENERGY WORK AND AND INDUDECENTECONOMICCLEANLIFEST BELOWR YWATER WORK, INNO GROWTHV ANDATION INDUANDLIFEREDUCEDS INFRT RY,A INNOSTRU VCATURETION SUSTAINABLEPEACEREDUCEDINEQUALITIES AND JUSTICE CITIES SUSTAINABLEANDPARTNERSHIPSRESPONSIBLE COMMUNITIES CITIES RESPONSIBLECONSUMPTION POVERTY HUNGER POVERTYAND WELLBEING HUNGEREDUCATION EQUALITYAND WELLBEING EDUCATIONANDCLEAN SANITATION ENERGY ECONOMICCLEANEQUALITYACTION ENERGY GROWTH ANDECONOMICANDWATER INFR SANITATIONAS TRUGROWTHCTURE ANDONINEQUALITIES INFR LANDASTRUCTURE ANDSTRONGINEQUALITIES COMMUNITIES INSTITUTIONS ANDFORCONSUMPTION COMMUNITIES THE GOALS CONSUMPTIONAND PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION AFFORDABLEAFFORDABLE AND AND DECENTDECENT WORK WORK AND AND INDUINDUSSTTRRYY,, INNO INNOVVAATIONTION REDUCEDREDUCED SUSTAINABLESUSTAINABLE CITIESCITIES RESPONSIBLERESPONSIBLE CLIMATE LIFE BELOW LIFE PEACE AND JUSTICE PARTNERSHIPS AFFORDABLECLEANCLEAN