Environmental Health Project Summary

DSD and Environmental Health

The Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas (HEMA) process is a significant milestone along the path that connected the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Support for HEMA was further given in January 2004, where the HEMA initiative was recognized in the Special Summit of the Americas Leaders’ “Declaration of Nuevo Leon.”

The Working Group of the HEMA initiative, consisting of Health and Environment officials from each of the five sub-regions in the Americas (North America, Central America, Caribbean, Andean Region, and Southern Cone) met three times in 2004-2005 and developed a consensus on three priority areas for hemispheric action:

1. Integrated Water Resource and Solid Waste Management

2. Sound Management of Chemicals in the Americas

3. Children’s Environmental Health

Given the strong link between environmental health issues and civil society concerns, an important aspect of the HEMA planning process entailed a meaningful engagement with civil society organizations (CSO). During the months of May and June, 2005 the Office for Sustainable Development and Environment of the Organization of American States organized and managed a Virtual Consultation Forum with civil society that served as a tool to facilitate the discussion on necessary actions to promote equity in health, environment and sustainable development. The result was a series of concrete recommendations on these pivotal issues that were presented during the Meeting of Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas that took place in June 14th – 17th, 2005 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. These recommendations were incorporated in the Declaration of Ministers and a Cooperative Agenda presented to the Fourth Summit of the Americas, in Mar del Plata in November 2005.

A meeting of the HEMA Working Group may take place based upon feedback from the Government of Argentina in July-August 2007 in order to evaluate the results of the meeting that took place in Mar del Plata in June 2005 and to begin discussion on the implementation of the agreements reached by the ministers at that time.

[Visit http://www.oas.org/hema/ for more information on the Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas Initiative]

Initiatives

IDRC Ecohealth Program on Communicable Disease in LAC: Ecohealth Research for Policy and Action. The Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health Initiative (Ecohealth), collaborated with the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to create Ecohealth. This program researches the use of ecosystem approaches to human health in the control and prevention of communicable diseases with a thematic focus on three public health priority vector-borne diseases in the region: Chagas disease, dengue and malaria. The organization hosted an Ecohealth workshop on Uruguay, in which a number of experts delivered presentations.

Past Events

DECEMBER 4-5, 2006. First Interamerican Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. More ..

MAY 17 - NOVEMBER 24, 2006. The Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) is hosting a Virtual Forum for Consultation with Civil Society on topics directly related within the framework of the First Interamerican Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development in Bolivia More...

FEBRUARY 8 – 10, 2006. Tarija, Bolivia. Agua y MAS/ Water Plus Proposal Review Workshop: Providing Safe Water and Sanitation in the Andean Border Region More…

MARCH 28 - 31, 2006. 2006 AIDIS - THE CARIBBEAN, MEXICO, USA AND CANADA Regional Conference: Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Environmental Quality
Chicago, USA More…

JUNE 16-17, 2005. Mar del Plata, Argentina Meeting of Ministers of Health and Environment of the Americas |Photos | Declaration of Mar del Plata | More...

(other links http://www.oas.org/hema & http://www.msal.gov.ar/ministros%5Famericas/site/)

MAY –JUNE, 2005. Virtual Consultation Forum with Civil Society. The Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) hosted a Virtual Forum for Consultation with Civil Society on topics directly related with priorities established in the framework of the Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas (HEMA) initiative. More... (http://www.oas.org/consulta/osde/)

Related Documents

Research paper on Environmental Health Implications of Expanded Trade in the Americas prepared with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Estimating Economic Benefits of Environmental Health Interventions

within the Context of the Health and Environment Ministers of The Americas (HEMA) Initiative prepared with support from the Government of Canada/Environment Canada

CEC report on children's health and environment indicators in North America