Preparatory meeting for the Fifth WHO Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health to be held in Parma in 2010

Protection of environment, nature and climate is a major contributor to health protection of the population. Since 1989 the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been organising specialised conferences for the European Environment and Health Ministers to raise awareness of this close correlation.

The fifth WHO conference will take place in Parma, Italy, in 2010. About 300 experts will meet in Bonn from 27 to 29 April 2009 to prepare the conference. The most prominent topics on the agenda will be health impacts of climate change, the further development of the Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe as well as gender equality and social inequities in connection with environmental health risks.

Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Health Ministry Marion Caspers-Merk noted at the beginning of the preparatory conference: "Germany will assume an active role in the WHO process for environment and health because intact and healthy living environments require comprehensive environment-based health protection."

Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, emphasised: "We can only secure the protection of human health against environmental health hazards if we unite forces and develop effective risk minimisation strategies."

In 2009 and 2010 the Federal Government will, as part of the International Climate Initiative, support seven projects on health adaptation to climate change in South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The projects will be carried out by WHO and include, for example, the establishment of early warning systems for extreme weather events and the outbreak of infectious diseases. 10 years ago Germany put in place the Action Programme on Environment and Health (APUG) to implement WHO activities on a national scale. Cooperation in the framework of the programme on topical issues of environmental impact on human health involves the Ministry of Agriculture in addition to the Health and Environment Ministries.

The preparatory conference is organised by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The Federal Environment and the Federal Health Ministries will jointly host the conference to which representatives of 53 member states of the WHO region Europe have been invited as well as NGOs, the European Commission and youth representatives.