NGO Report back

Newscaster Script
Genon: Good Afternoon and welcome to RPG News. Im Genon
Jensen,
Sascha: and Im Sascha Gabizon
Genon: And were coming to you live and direct from the Vienna
Inter-ministerial Conference on Health and Environment.
Sascha: Today we have a special segment prepared for you:
Beyond Budapest, Where we will be taking a look at progress made
on the childrens environment and health action plan. We plan to ask
the critical questions: where have we come from, what are we doing,
and where are we going?
Genon: But first, lets start from what we know. We have four special
reporters standing by ready to give news from the field, presenting
some of the challenges facing children across Europe. Challenges
like respiratory diseases, asthma, obesity, diarrhea, developmental
disorders and childhood cancer. They will be able to give some
solutions and ideas for future action.
Sascha: Now, lets go to our Country Reporter in the Field, Diana
Iskreva in Bulgaria.
Diana speaks
Slide 1: no wonder that safe water and sanitation is the Regional
Priority Goal number 1. There are still 40 million people in Europe
living without access to safe drinking water and 85 million people
living in Europe that do not have access to safe sanitation.
Slide 2: In the European region, the burden of diarrhoeal disease
attributable to poor water, sanitation and hygiene, in children aged 014 years is estimated at more than 13 500 (or 5.3% of all deaths).
Slide 3: read

Slide 4: While at global level the % of population supplied with safe

water and sanitation is constantly growing, this % is constantly
dropping down in the rural areas of the Eastern Part of Europe (in the
countries of transition). As we are seating with you here, some more
people in the villages of Eastern part of Europe are loosing accesss
to safe water and sanitation facilities that they used to have!
Here is an example from the rural part of the Kyrgyz republic.
Slide 5: As we are witnessing the reality on this picture, we should not
be surprised that , 75% of kids with waterborne diseases, in the
eastern part of the continent, got exposed to contamination, while
being in their kindergartens and schools, vs 6% in Western Europe.
Slide 6:
These are the problems. Are they being addressed?
In 2003, the NGO Brussels Statement called on governments to
finally ratify the Water & Health Protocol
The Good news is that the protocol is in force and has an excellent
workplan, concrete steps, tasks divided
The Bad news is that many countries still have to ratify it and there is
a lack of funding for the adequate implementation of the workplan.
Slide 7: what we believe should be the governmetns first priority, is
to improve school sanitation immediately! Only the government has
both the autority and the responsibility to eradicate these problems!
Highest urgency exists for schools in rural areas
The kids there urgently need clean and safe toilets but also handwashing facilities
and access to safe drinking water.
We have seen cases where the authorities closed the drinking water
well of the school, and did not provide an alternative.
We believe, all schools MUST have safe water and sanitation
facilities!
Slide 8:
So what can your ministers of health and environment do? They
should make sure that

safe school sanitation is at the top of their government agenda, they

should legislate that schools without safe sanitation get funding.
Your ministers should do this in colaboration with local governments,
Ministers of Education and Public Works
Also, your ministers should make sure that the EU structural funds
and developing funds are being spent to improve also the
environmental and health conditions in kindergartens and schools,
guaranteeing safe water and adequate sanitation for the children. In
this way saving 13 500 children lives in Europe each year!
Currently hardly any funds are targeted at the most needy, the school
children in rural communities without safe water supply and
sanitation.
Slide 9:
For the rural communities we need to look at other technologies than
the expensive centralized sewage treatment systems. Focus should
be on small size water supply systems and On-site ecological
sanitation systems like wetlands and dry urine diverting toilets
These small systems can create local employment
Slide 10: Currently, these new systems encounter many legislative
and institutional barriers. We believe that governments should
Transpose into national legislation the WHO Guidelines for safe reuse of human excreta and grey water in agriculture
And we believe they should enforce effective Water source protection
legislation
to contain olso pesticides, latrines, animal waste, solid waste
Slide 11: This is what we ask governments to do
We, the NGOs of WECF network, have committed additionally by
2009, that we will
Improve the health of 10.000 school children and provide 25 schools
with low cost, dry urine diverting toilets; to protect groundwater from
infiltration of faecal bacteria and nitrates
Demonstrate benefits of reuse of wastewater and nutrients in
agriculture

And we are working on brining down the price of our demonstration

toilets to reach the same cost as a VIP latrine
Slide 12: this is an example, illustrating how we are working, above
you see the old pit latrine of a village cultural center in Bulgaria, and
below the new ecosan system, with hygienic urine diverting toilets
and grey water treatment facility.
Slide 13: we hope that governments will support ours and other
citizens initiatives of this kind, to immediately help improve our
childrens health.
I now, while we enjoy a few images from the Danube Delta Teens
water protection project in Romania entitled Waste in Water Hurts
Our Health,
I hand back to our studio in Vienna.
Sascha: Thank you for that insightful report. That picture of a school
latrine was quite shocking, I cant imagine my 6 year old daughter
having to use such a latrine.
Genon: (nod in agreement). Now lets go to our International Safety
Expert, Joanne Vincenten. Unfortunately our correspondent on built
environments, physical exercise and obesity is off ill and wont be able
to report on this segment, today. We will bring the news at a later
date. Over to you Joanne.
SLIDE TWO: Whats the problem?
- In Europe, more children die of injuries than all other childhood
diseases.
O It has greatest environmental burden of children compared to
outdoor/indoor contaminants, water, sanitation and hygine issues,
with great inequities in Central and Eastern Europe.
- An estimated 10 billion Euros was spent treating injuries to children
in 1999 in the EU alone.

- If what we know about effective prevention strategies was applied

by member states today researchers estimate that 90% of injuries
could be prevented.
QUESTION FROM GENON: Well has there been any progress since
Budapest in 2004?
Yes there has been progress
SLIDE THREE: Progress since Budapest 2004
- 1st-More political commitment to action by Member States
O WHO Resolutions on Injury Prevention and Child & Adolescent
Health
O EU Communication & Recommendation on injury
O UNICEF hosted a regional consultation to add injury as one of their
priorities
O More countries are working on child safety action plans
- 2nd- Multi-sectoral action growing
O As evidenced by the many report backs by working on CEHAPE
O 1st UN Global Road Safety Week and
O National educational campaigning for child home safety is
underway in many countries
-3rd- Increasing capacity to address child injury prevention
O 1st European Conference on Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion,
June 2006
O WHO Focal points for injury prevention named by most Ministers of
Health in the Europe region.
O 29 Member States are participanting in joint work to address child
injury prevention as part of a European network composed of NGOs
Member State governments, academics, researchers, and
practitioners.
QUESTION FROM GENON: That sounds great so are we almost
there?
Well there is still more work to do.
SLIDE FOUR: Challenges to further progress
- 1st- Current commitment and resources are not commiserate with
the size

of the problem.
O To do a good job a core group of people and funding needs to be
dedicated to the issue.
O In particular support of families in low income environments
- 2nd- More strategies need to go beyond educational campaigns
alone.
O While education is an important and essential part of a
comprehensive approach to injury prevention, the most effective
approach is a combination of education, environmental or product
modification and enforcement through legislative measures and that
these are done in a way to meet the needs of low income
populations.
- 3rd. Surprisingly no country in the European region has
implemented all of the recommended good practice strategies to
reduce child injury.
O For example there is a national law requiring child resistant
packaging of medications and chemicals in Germany and the UK to
reduce childhood poisoning, but not all other member states are
following this lead.
O Also only France has national laws requiring pool fencing for
private pools proven to reduce childhood drowning and controlled
temperatures for tap water to prevent scalds.
O The Czech Republic and Sweden have recently adopted legislation
for use of bicycle helmets, yet many other countries have not taken
up and enforced this proven good practice.
QUESTION FROM GENON: So what is needed to overcome the
challenges?
SLIDE FIVE: Key recommendations for 2009
Honour the commitment to promote safe, secure and supportive
human settlements for all children in Europe by:
- Investing in child injury prevention, especially in low income
countries and families living in poverty to reduce inequalities.
- Developing national child safety action plans that are incorporated
into broader national policies.
- Adopting, implementing and enforcing what works. The evidence
exists, it just needs to be done.

- Enhancing capacity to develop, implement and evaluate effective

injury prevention strategies
In closing the timing is right with the World report on child injuries to
be released in 2008 and the 5th Ministerial Conference on
Environment and Health in 2009 all of Europe will be watching and
waiting to see the results of a safer Europe for children.
Thank you Joanne it is good to hear were making progress on
RPG II, and that the roadmap for action is clear for the next
ministerial.
Sascha: Lets turn now to our Brussels Political Correspondent,
Christian Farrar-Hockley. Christian, can you hear us?
Christian Speaks
Welcome to Brussels,
Please excuse me for the respiratory infection that I have contracted
that unfortunately has been exasperated by fine particulate matter.
Let me take you back: Budapest 2004 both our Environment and
Health Ministers committed to reduce respiratory disease in children.
The Irish Minister for Health at the time had just announced the
success of Irelands smoke-free policy, and encouraged other
ministers across the Region to do the same.
Since Budapest, many more countries have implemented smoke free
public and work places such as Italy, Norway, Spain and Belgium,
and the UK will do so in three weeks. This is one area where
countries have made significant progress but we want to ask
ministers today in this process to actively work towards a European
Region of smoke free places for our children.
How much did we achieve since Budapest on Outdoor air.
Unfortunately this is an area where we have lost the most Important
fights for childrens health.

In the EU, governments will fail to adopt EU Air Quality standards

based on WHO health guidelines. Last week patients groups,
clinicians, scientists signed a declaration with key European
Parliamentarians saying The EU and national governments must
liaise with other agencies to understand and reduce the impact of
environmental factors on asthma such as smoking, air pollution,
hazards in schools, day care, the work place and home, as well as
other environmental triggers. A clear message that many of our
politicians have now woken up the emerging crisis of respiratory
disease related to air pollution.
Speaking Yesterday to one of our leading respiratory health
researchers and an excellent pediatrian, he stated on top of these
increasing rates he was really worried about increasing rates of
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) because he said I
dont know how to help COPD sufferers.
The International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (including
Europes leading scientists) and The European Respiratory Society
(made up of over 17,000 respiratory doctors) have called for
standards to be based on WHO Guidelines. The European
Respiratory Journal stated that in conclusion, the proposed air quality
directive does not adequately reflect the best scientific evidence.
As an example of this a breakthrough Dutch study traced the health
of 4,146 youngsters before birth to the age of four. They tested the
childrens blood and found that children living close to busy roads,
showed increased likelihood of asthma, wheezing, ear, nose and
throat infections, colds and flu.
An internal source in the European Commission reported that
Commissioner Dimas responsible for EUs environment is making
good progress from his emergency eye operation in New York, we at
RPG News wish him a quick recovery. He has done a marvellous job
in explaining that with a little push you (member states) will be able to
substantially improve the air our children breathe.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Is it true that indoor air pollution is a major problem for air pollution in
eastern Europe?
Yes Sascha the situation of the majority of the poor in EECCA
countries have to chose either to be poisoned from indoor waste
burning for heating or to freeze in winter. I will give you the example
of Armenia: in Armenia about half the population live in poverty. They
have to burn either waste, diesel, kerosene or tar to heat their houses
and schools.
The health-damaging pollutants such as particles carbon monoxide,
sulphur oxides, Benzo Perene and dioxins. Many of these are heavy
toxicants even carcinogenic. There unfortunately is a complete lack
of control of air quality in spaces these children occupy.
Like Armenia many EECCA countries face the same problems. With
the increase of energy prices more and more families are being cut
off from gas supplies. Urgent measures have to be taken by
Governments to switch clean energy sources and provide access to
these for the most vulnerable.
A report just in the technical people doing economic costings (IIASA)
headlining a report Joined up air policies Could Save Lives
Combining air and climate policies could bring the cost of complying
with air quality regulation estimated at 7.1Bn annually down to 0.
better public health for free.
To sum up: Keep Moving East on controlling tobacco, ask your car
manufacturer for the strictest air quality standards, we need
immediate support for children in poor families in eastern Europe to
reduce respiratory diseases in Europe.
Finally, please contact youre member of parliament and ask them to
protect your childs health, if they do not set the example who will.
This is Christian Farrar-Hockley Perspective from Brussels. Back to
Genon and Sascha in our Vienna studio.
Sascha: Thanks Chris! I hope your cold is getting better soon.

Genon: Thank you for that insightful report. We have to move quickly
now to our Parenting and Health Expert from Munich, Sonja Haider.
Sonja Haider and Genon converse.
We are privileged to have our health expert SONJA HAIDER in the
studio. She has just come back from the NGO Conference to prepare
for this meeting. One session focused specifically on Hazardous
chemicals.
Tell me Sonja I heard that a brand new EU chemicals legislation
called REACH has just entered into force at the beginning of last
week. Will this really help improve childrens health as many
governments are saying?
SONJA;
Well, REACH in our opinion is a first step but we think it is too early to
celebrate.
We need the help of the governments to ensure a strong
implementation. They need to make sure that it takes care of the
special vulnerabilities of children such as their developing brains.
We also hope that companies will use the safer chemicals than
outside of the European Union and dont apply a double standard.
To save the intelligence of our children, OECD is currently creating
new tests and governments should adopt these tests as soon as
they are available.
GENON:
So this is an action for the governments to prioritizing finalizing these
OECD tests.
My next question to you Sonja is what are the problems with
pesticides, another issue which falls under RPGIV ?
SONJA:
Well, Weve heard from our colleagues in the Eastern part of the
Region that cleaning up the obsolete stockpiles of pesticides and

other Persistant organic Pollutants is very important. So parents and

children have to know about the health dangers of these sites and
parents should not allow their children to come close.
In the western part, NGOs are concerned about whether the new
pesticides legislation will take on board what scientist recently
published in the Faroer Island statement. Since Budapest we have
this new evidence of the health effects of pesticides on children and
particularly on the development of their brains. 1 in every 6 children
has developmental disabilities. So its time to act now!
GENON;
Imagine your child being less intelligent due to this? We need to think
how we can encourage more organic production, this is already being
pursued in many countries.
And what about chemicals used in consumer products? Can we
replace the most hazardous?
SONJA: The good news is YES. There are many safer alternatives
and many countries in the Nordic region and leading companies are
already promoting them, particularly for products aimed at children.
For example its unnecessary to use PVC in childrens rain gear.
Another good news is, that GREEN CHEMISTRY is also taking off.
This is something that we hope the chemical industry will invest in as
an innovative and competitive avenue for the future! Maybe this is
something that the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development can report on in Italy - 2009.
GENON; What about nanotechnology, Ive heard a lot about it,
particularly that we dont know enough about the long term health
implications.
SONJA
;
Well the EU scientific committee has recently said that there is
evidence that nano particles can affect your lungs and we dont know

yet what the long term effects are. My question is == do we really

need it in our products such as sunscreen for children?
GENON
OK we are running out of time. My last question for you is about what
the NGOs will be doing in the next year?
SONJA:
I want to mention two concrete projects. We will bring the results of
these to the Ministerial in Italy.
The Nesting project has been developed by WECF Women in
Europe for a common Future and its member organizations. It aims to
help parents create a healthy and safe environment for their
newborns to improve childrens health right from the beginning.
Another project is the CHEMICAL HEALTH MONITOR carried out by
HEAL, the Health and Environment Alliance to get hazardous
chemicals out of consumer products by providing information on the
health effects and the science behind it.
I only have time to mention these two, but many more exist.
Wrap:
Sascha:. (speaking to Genon). Wow, that was an impressive account
on the Budapest progress situation. I think are a number of recurring
themes in the reports we should come back to and draw some
conclusions.
Genon: Yes, clearly one of the main issues is access to resources,
and quite frankly environmental injustice. The poor are clearly the
most adversely affected and suffer a disproportionate exposure to
environmental harms, and as with other, and as many of our viewers
will know, it is the children who suffer the most. They are more likely
to lack access to safe and clean water, more likely to have airpolluted indoor environments at home and at school, and more likely
to suffer the various effects of chemical pollution, or suffer from an
accident.

Sascha: I agree, Genon, but although poverty reduction and

inequalities is contained in the CEHAPE as an overarching goal, not
much progress has been made in addressing this issue, or at least
we have not heard about it. NGOs are saying much more should be
done by governments and civil society before they meet again in Italy
in 2009. Maybe we can have a report on measures how to address
environmental inequalities and the burden of disease, ready for 2009.
Genon: In the Pan-European region, and even within the EU, there
are clearly inequalities in peoples access to environmental benefits,
and exposures to environmental hazards. For instance, we heard
that it is often poor children that live next to busy roads. Not only
suffering from higher rates of asthma, but also more likely to get hit
by a car. We need legislation that simultaneously addresses
environmental protection and human rights, not just for today, but for
future generations.
Sascha: Yes, I fully agree, and when we think about integrating
multiple aspects its important to note that environmental health
involves more than just environment and health. Better interministerial and inter-sectoral cooperation would really benefit the
process. And speaking of benefits, as we heard from RPG III, the EU
alone would save about 161 billion Euros yearly if they could just
reduce air-pollution deaths.
Genon: Its clear that environmental health aspects must be taken
into account from the start when developing policy. Dialogue between
the energy, transport, industry, agriculture, planning, education and
most importantly the finance ministries is needed. As we increasingly
talk about talk about sustainable development, the environment and
health process offers a wonderful example, particularly as the one we
are working on focuses on children. Sustainable development
becomes tangible, .
Sascha: I agree. I would like to make final point, we need to focus on
the pysichal vulnerablility of children, particularly in prenatal stage.
Since Budapest, we have come a long way in our scientific
understanding of how low levels of exposure to certain chemicals in
the womb can contribute to diseases that only occur later in life.

Back then, we already thought we needed to move faster, but now we

know it! Its clearly TIME to ACT. I was shocked to hear that probably
millions of children have reduced intelligence, not only from lead and
mercury, which we know about, but potentially from as many as 200
other very commonly used chemicals. Governments should use
REACH implementation to prioritize substituting known endocrine
disruptors like pthtalates, bishpenol-A and brominated-flame
retardants with safer alternatives.
Genon: Now what Im worried about is that we have this excellent
process, Future of our Children, with its Childrens Environmental
Health Action Plan Europe.which can give us the tools to
implement fast action to improve childrens health.
For this process to continue, we need each actor here, to prioritize it.
It would be good if WHO could put it higher on its own agenda. This
can only done, if member states clearly ask WHO to do so. The EUs
mid-term review has recognized the value of working on environment
and health, and as we have seen in the media coverage already, this
is a topic that appeals to the public.
Sascha: Governments need to think creatively have to give this
process the highest priority and much more funding. And legally
binding options should be considered, alongside opportunities for 25
of the EU countries, to put childrens health protection in legislation.
Credits
Genon: Well, that concludes our special segment, Beyond
Budapest. You can find the written transcript on the Healthy
Environments for Children website. This report has been made
possible by the NGOs in the field daily, the WHO, and all the
governments in this room. Without your support none of this wouldve
been possible, and we need your continuing commitment (and ours)
so that this process will save the lives of many many children.
Sascha: Thats all from RPG News. Im Sascha Gabizon
Genon: And Im Genon Jensen

Together: And this is RPG News!