The 4th International Conference on Children’s Helath and Environment took place in Vienna, 10th of June – 12th of June 2007.
This conference – the fourth after Amsterdam (1998), Washington (2001) and London (2004) – is initiated by the International Network on Children’s Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES) in collaboration with the University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology – Dept. of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, and the Medical University of Vienna, Institute of Environmental Health. This conference offers a world-wide platform dealing with health problems of children caused by important environmental influences.
WHO Intergovernmental Midterm Review Conference was held back to back to this event. WECF and HEAL organised the input of the NGOs into the inter-ministerial conference on children’s environmental health. On Wednesday 13th of June, the NGOs presented the winners of the NGO CEHAPE AWARD, right after the introduction by the EU Commissioner for Health.
AWHHE was awarded as a winner in the category CEHAPE Regional Priority Goal I Water and Sanitation. The projects were evaluated by a jury consisting of international experts from the health and environment sectors.
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Healthy Environment for Our Children – Healthy Generation for Armenia
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Funded by: CDPF and CPI/CASP within the framework of the Civil Advocacy Support Program (CASP) in Armenia supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Project Start Date: March 2007
Project Duration: 10 months
Project Implementation: Area Ararat marz, Yerevan
Goal
The decision (resolution) on ensuring of the pesticide burial safety has been adopted by state bodies for the population and the environment.
Output 1
The target audience (local officials, the Prime-minister, the Ministers of Nature Protection, Health, Agriculture…) responded positively to the adoption of decision.
Output 2
Stakeholders (different local and national NGOs, local authorities, the Agency of Emergency, the community representatives, scientists, appropriate specialists and local delegates) for cooperation and involvement in decision making process have been mobilized.
Output 3
Comparative risk assessment of pesticides burial site has been done
Download booklets in English and Armenian >>
English (PDF – 3 MB) Armenian (PDF – 3MB)
A seminar for the creation of the Working group of stakeholders on “The ecological approaches to the chemicals management” was held on the 30 th of May in Armenia Marriott Hotel.
There participated 49 persons from the Ministry of Nature Protection, Ministry of Agriculture, National Assemble, Emergency Agency and National Academy of Sciences and different NGOs.
The working group was created with 9 representatives of different NGOs and agencies.
Download presentation “Towards Toxic-Free Future – stage 4” – 1.7 MB, Power Point Format
Click images to enlarge
During the side-event WECF partners presented very strong and impressive their problems and solutions in their countries and gave policy recommendations. Hripsime Jangiryan from Armenian Women for Health and a Healthy Environment (AWHHE) presented the affecting movie “The cost of poverty” about energy poverty and indoor pollution in Armenia.
Download the presentation “Indoor air pollution and energy poverty” – 500 KB, Power point format
“The Cost of Poverty” Movie Background
Armenia is a country with difficult and unique economical situation including energy sector, due to conflicts in the region, it only has one open border towards Georgia , and has no local oil or gas resources. AWHHE works in 3 poor villages. In one, Hayanist village, the school heats the class rooms with kerosene stoves, which spew black smoke into the class rooms and are dangerous as they easily can explode.
The poorest family in the village is a female-headed single household, a widow with 2 daughters, whose social payments are so low that she can not afford to buy heating and cooking fuels. Instead they burn waste products, such as tar and felt.
AWHHE has produced a TV documentary of 15 minutes, which shows the situation in which the school children and this family have to live, and interviews the children on their perceived health effects. A medical doctor explains the negative health effects from a scientific point of view. The documentary is being shown at a series of conferences around the country and at several international conferences, to raise awareness about the severity of energy poverty in the EECCA region and calls for urgent action