The Budapest media anthology WHO/Europe communication campaign leading up to the Budapest Conference WHO/Europe communication campaign for the Budapest Conference started on World Health Day 2003 (7 April 2003) and developed along many steps until June 2004. This anthology includes the full set of WHO materials (press releases, fact sheets, notes for the press, promotional materials, etc.) issued at each event, as well as their impact on European media (articles and interviews). The Budapest media anthology WHO/Europe communication campaign leading up to the Budapest Conference INTRODUCTION This collection includes the main articles, editorials, reportages published by media in the countries of the WHO European Region on the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health held in Budapest, Hungary in June 2004. The Conference was a culminating event of a large campaign devoted to environment and children’s health. It was accompanied by extensive communication activities by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and aimed at raising public awareness of the issues which were to be addressed by ministers at the Conference, as well as the event itself, and its outcomes. This also facilitated the participation and involvement of policy makers, nongovernmental organizations, scientific organizations, international organizations and the general public. The communication campaign, whose main documents are included in this report, started with World Health Day in April 2003, which focused on the effect of the environment on children’s health. Throughout 2003 and 2004, specific communication messages were developed around events directly or indirectly linked to the theme of the Budapest Conference. The public health profile of the issues of the Conference was kept high through media promotion activities at international, regional and national levels. Decision-makers and experts from WHO and national governments extensively contributed to the efficiency of the campaign by meeting the press and providing them with comprehensive and evidence- based information. The Budapest conference itself was preceded by two press conferences in London and Rome launching a report published in the Lancet and summarizing the scientific basis for the policy decisions taken by the Ministers of Environment and Health in Budapest. During the Budapest conference itself, fourteen press briefings and press conferences were held in conjunction with the different sessions of the conference. Numerous press documents were made available to the journalists. The press events were attended by ministers and high level representatives of international organizations and the WHO. Although the limited resources which have been allocated to conduct this press review could not allow a comprehensive overview of all media from the Region, major efforts have been made to screen as much media articles and reportages on the subject as possible. Our review shows that there was an extensive coverage of environment and health issues by the media in the countries of the Region with a broad and genuine understanding of problems and challenges. Since communication is essential to assist the broad public health community and decision makers to implement improvements in environment and health, there is a lot of interest in the kind of coverage that was received and the way in which the issues were reported. We hope that the experience gained in this occasion will be useful to improve our methodology and the effectiveness of our work towards Member States, media and the European citizens. Roberto Bertollini Anca Dumitrescu Director Director Division of Technical Support Division of Information, Evidence Health Determinants and Communication CONTENT World Health Day “Healthy Environments for Children”, 7 April 2003 1 The Fifth Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe”, Kiev, Ukraine, 23 21-23 May 2003 The Second Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth Ministerial 31 Conference on Environment and Health, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-27 June 2003 European Mobility Week, 16-22 September 2003 37 World Climate Change Conference, Moscow, Russian Federation, 29 41 September–3 October 2003 Advocacy and Information, Education and Communication Workshop, 57 Wroclaw, Poland, 29 September–1 October 2003 The Third Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth Ministerial 73 Conference on Environment and Health, Evora, Portugal, 27-28 November 2003 The Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations 77 Framework Convention on Climate Change, Milan, Italy, 9-12 December 2003 Technical Meeting on sleep and health, Bonn, Germany, 22-24 January 2004 101 Technical Meeting on housing and health, Munich, Germany, 12-13 February 105 2004 The Fourth Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth Ministerial 109 Conference on Environment and Health, St Julian’s, Malta 25-26 March 2004 World Health Day “Road Safety”, 7 April 2004 127 Workshop on scientist-media information exchange, Rome, Italy, 26-27 April 163 2004 Launch of the Environmental Burden of Disease Report, Rome, Italy – London, 179 UK, 18 June 2004 The Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health “The future for 243 our children”, Budapest, Hungary, 23-25 June 2004 The Budapest media anthology: WHO/Europe communication campaign leading up to the Budapest Conference 7 April 2003, World Health Day “Healthy Environments for Children” “Healthy environments for children” is the theme of World Health Day 2003. On this occasion, WHO/Europe officially launches the theme ‘The future for our child ren’ heading to the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, to be held in Budapest in June 2004. 1. Press Release: “The future for our children: at risk from unhealthy environments” .......................... 3 2. Fact Sheet: “Environmental hazards trigger childhood allergic disorders” ........................................ 5 3. Media Events..................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Press Clippings.................................................................................................................................. 11 The Budapest media anthology 7 April 2003- World Health Day “Healthy Environments for Children” 2 The Budapest media anthology 7 April 2003- World Health Day “Healthy Environments for Children” 1. Press Release: “The future for our children: at risk from unhealthy environments” Press release EURO/03/03 Copenhagen, Bonn, Brussels, Moscow, Oslo, Rome, Stockholm, 4 April 2003 THE FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN: AT RISK FROM UNHEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS Concern about children’s health and the environment is increasing. That is why healthy environments for children is the theme for World Health Day, 7 April 2003, and the campaign that follows. “The evidence is growing that the environment is damaging children’s health”, says Dr Marc Danzon, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “Our children are our future, and they need to be protected with action tailored to their specific needs, particularly because, as developing organisms, their bodies and brains are more vulnerable than those of adults.” Environmental threats cause up to 33% of the global disease burden; 40% of this is estimated to fall on children aged under 5 years, although they represent only 10% of the global population. Every year, the deaths of more than 5 million children across the world are linked to unhealthy environments.1 In the WHO European Region, children are at risk of exposure to more than 15 000 synthetic chemicals and a variety of environmental hazards, such as indoor and outdoor air pollution (including environmental tobacco smoke), road traffic, the effects of global climate change, contaminated food and water, contaminants in toys, unsafe buildings and radiation. In the settings where children live, learn and play, these risks combine to generate or trigger a wide range of negative health effects, including asthma, injuries, neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, and food- and waterborne diseases. Allergy and asthma are particularly relevant, as they are associated with several environmental hazards. They are multifactorial conditions, resulting from complex interaction of genes and the environment. In particular, environmental tobacco smoke, poor indoor/outdoor air and some allergens influence the development of allergic reactions. “Europe is facing an epidemic of allergic diseases and asthma, which have steadily increased in recent years,” says Dr Roberto Bertollini, Director of the Division of Technical Support, Health Determinants in the WHO Regional Office for Europe. “In most countries in the European Region, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the prevalence of asthma symptoms in children was reported to increase by 200%, although in some parts of the Region, such as Italy and the United Kingdom, the increase may have abated. In the European Union, allergic disease is the most common chronic illness of childhood, and in some areas can be estimated to affect more than one child in four.” Among the many factors associated with asthma and allergies, the environmental consequences of climate change have recently attracted the attention of scientists and the public health community. Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns may alter the length and timing of the growing season of plants producing pollen. On average, the length of 1 The world health report 2002. Reducing the risks, promoting healthy