Environmental Risks Kill 2.5 Million a Year in Asia-Pacific

MANILA, Philippines, November 24, 2004 (ENS) - More than 2.5 million people in the Asia and Pacific region die each year due to environmental risks, such as exposure to urban and indoor air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, and climate change.

That warning was delivered at a special meeting that opened today, jointly organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The high level meeting on health and environment, being held over three days at the Bank's headquarters in Manila, brings together representatives of ministries of health and of environment and other key institutions from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia.

The meeting aims to develop a better understanding of the linkages between poverty, health, and environment.

Water pollution in Indonesia threatens health and well being. (Photo © Raharto courtesy UNEP)

"Socioeconomic developments of ASEAN and East Asian countries are becoming increasingly interdependent, and the linkages of these developments to the environment and health in the region are becoming more complex and cross-boundary," Shigeru Omi, regional director for the WHO Western Pacific, said in his opening address.

In recent years, WHO, UNEP and ADB have collaborated with ASEAN and East Asian countries in developing environmental health policies and strategies.

The organizations support air and water quality monitoring and health surveillance, work towards improving access to information on chemical and other environmental hazards, and develop public awareness and advocacy of environmental health.

However, more needs to be done to improve the collaboration between the health and environment agencies in the countries, as well as collaboration between the countries in strengthening the environmental health sector, participants heard.

Burning wood to heat their home this family is exposed to indoor air pollution that can damage their lungs. (Photo courtesy WHO)

A regional forum is needed to bring high-level officials from health and environment health agencies in these countries to discuss major environmental challenges and potential solutions, and identify necessary actions by national agencies and international partner organizations, delegates heard.

"There is a window of opportunity in front of us - but we must act quickly to use it towards greater collaboration, to create a new framework and foster innovation within and outside our traditional sectoral boundaries," Asian Development Bank Vice-President Geert van der Linden said in his welcome remarks.

There are plenty of issues for the delegates to address. Avian influenza is spreading again across the region, rural women and their children are subjected to levels of smoke in their homes that far exceed international safety standards, and pesticide poisoning is a serious health problem that disproportionately affects infants and children in the region.

But participants in this meeting seek to do more than point out the extent of environmental problems facing the region. "Raising issues is not enough," van der Linden said. "We must recognize shared benefits and responsibilities and propose concrete solutions and actions."