EPHA Environment Network launches its new name: Health and Environment Alliance
EcoPolis
Health and environment network changes its name
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Brussels 21 September 2006 - Europe's leading non-governmental
voice on health and environment is changing its name. From today, the
former European Public Health Alliance Environment Network (EEN) will
be known as the Health and Environment Alliance. (1)
"We have made the change because 'Health and Environment
Alliance' is shorter, easier to translate and explains much better
who we are - but we are still same organisation," says Génon Jensen,
Executive Director. (2) "It also represents an opportunity to boost
understanding of how the environment affects our health."
The Health and Environment Alliance aims to raise awareness of how
environmental protection improves health. It achieves this by creating
opportunities for better representation of citizens' and health
experts' perspectives in the environment and health-related European
policy-making.
Earlier this year, representatives from many of the organisation's
more than 50 international, European and national member organisations
listened while European MEPs, commission representatives and
journalists were quizzed on the links between environment and health.
(3) Among the questions posed was one on a recent report from the World
Health Organization showing that between 15 and 19% of deaths in the
wider Europe of 52 countries were due to environmental factors. (4)
Children are worst affected because they absorb a higher proportion of
what they eat and drink and from the air they breathe. (5)
A recent WHO review of children's exposure to air pollution shows
effects on pregnancy outcome, lung function development, asthma,
allergies, neuro-behavioural development and childhood cancer. (6) In
Europe, cancer in children is increasing at a rate of 1% per year (7)
and an estimated one in four children is allergic (8). The Health and
Environment Alliance is currently advocating stronger measures on air
pollution to reduce the health impact. Current EU strategy does not
respond to mounting evidence that hundreds of thousands of deaths could
be prevented each year if stricter standards and tighter deadlines were
adopted. According to the European Union's own impact assessment,
369,980 people die prematurely as a result of air pollution. (9)
Another area of concern is REACH, the EU legislation aimed at better
management of hazardous and nonhazardous chemicals. At present, there
is very little safety data available to the public for the vast
majority of chemicals traded on the market. If fully implemented, REACH
would improve chemical safety and public access to information and thus
reduce the adverse impact of harmful chemicals on health. A UK
regulatory impact assessment of REACH showed that even a reduction of
between 18 and 37 cancer deaths per year would be enough to generate a
positive cost-benefit ratio for the regulation. (12)
Our most recent campaign "Stay Healthy, Stop Mercury" is aimed at
raising awareness of the risks to health, especially for pregnant women
and babies, and working with women and health care professionals on how
they can protect themselves and the environment from mercury exposure.
"Together with Health Care
Without Harm Europe, we are mobilising the health community in Europe
for a global ban on mercury," Ms Jensen says.
In these and other advocacy efforts in the European institutions, the
Health and Environment Alliance works closely with the "Green 10"
environment groups, which includes the European Environment Bureau,
Greenpeace, WWF, and others. (13)
As well as its work with the European Parliament and Commission, the
Health and Environment Alliance plays a major role in World Health
Organization's programme on environment and health. (13) A key aim is
not only to encourage a priority focus on children's special needs
for legislative protection but also to encourage the implementation of
national plans for children's environmental health. The Alliance
supports the non-governmental groups in this process by helping to
create a common viewpoint and by sharing examples of best practice.
(14)
"The more we explain how environmental degradation is affecting our
health and what can and should be done about it, the more we can help
contribute to achieving a safer world for ourselves and our
children," concludes Ms Jensen.
For more information, please contact Health and Environment Alliance,
28 Boulevard Charlemagne, B-1000 Brussels, Tel: +32 2 234 3640 Fax :
+32 2 234 3649
Monica Guarinoni, Information Officer, E-mail: mon...@env-health.org
Website: www.env-health.org
###
Notes for journalists
1.The Health and Environment Alliance aims to protect the environment
as a means of promoting the health and well being of all people, and to
ensure the participation of citizens in the environment and
health-related European policy-making. It represents a diverse network
of more than 50 citizens', patients', women's, health
professionals' and environmental organisations across Europe and has
a strong track record in increasing public and expert engagement in
both EU debates and the decision-making process.
2. Génon Jensen launched the former European Public Health Alliance
Environment Network (EEN) in 2003. Prior to that, she headed up the
European Public Health Alliance. She says, "Another reason that we
needed the name change is to distinguish ourselves from the European
Public Health Alliance, which is one of our founding members and
currently serves on the our Executive Board. Although EPHA Environment
Network (EEN) began as a spin-off of EPHA, it is a completely separate
organization. EEN's new name, Health and Environment Alliance, better
reflects this."
3. The quiz created earlier this year is available at
www.env-health.org
4. Preventing disease through healthy environments: Towards an estimate
of the environmental burden of disease, see
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/preventingdisease/en/index.html
5. Children's health and environment: A review of evidence, WHO and
European Environment Agency, see
http://www.euro.who.int/childhealthenv/Monitoring/20020725_4?language=French
6. WHO review of children's exposure to air pollution, see
http://www.envhealth.org/a/1819?var_recherche=air+pollution
7. An article on cancer rates in children by the International Agency
for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO body, was published in the Lancet,
11-17 December 2004.
8. In Europe, 25% or more children are allergic, according to the
European Academy of Allergologists and Clinical Immunologists (EAACI).
See the website of an allergy patients' group (and Health and
Environment Alliance member)
http://www.efanet.org/allergy/living_with_allergies.html
9. Health and Environment Alliance position on EU air pollution
strategy is available at http://www.envhealth. org/a/2137 (full
reference to EU impact assessment available on page 2).
10. Report of the European Joint Research Institute on "Public
availability of safety data on EU High Production Volume Chemicals"
is available at
http://ecb.jrc.it/Data-Availability-Documents/datavail.pdf
11. A European Commission study estimated potential health benefits
from REACH to be worth 50 billion Euros over 30 years, whereas the
total cost to industry is estimated at 5 billion Euros.
12. From a health impact assessment report commissioned by the European
Trade Union Confederation, see
http://hesa.etui-rehs.org/uk/newsevents/files/reach-sheffield-complet.pdf
13. For an example of a joint activity with other G10 members, see
http://www.envhealth.org/a/2065?var_recherche=G10
14. Activities of non-governmental organisations in children's health
and the environment have been compiled on the Health and Environment
Alliance's "Healthy environments for children" website at
http://www.cehape.env-health.org/
The Health and Environment Alliance is an international
non-governmental organizations promoting health through environmental
protection. It brings together more than 50 groups working at the
European level.
(Source: Health and Environment Alliance)