In an effort to combat the rise in environmental health risks, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have partnered on a new collaboration set to curb these health risks on a global scale.
WHO chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus and the head of UNEP, Erik Solheim, signed the agreement in Nairobi to step up joint actions to combat air pollution, as well as improve coordination on waste and chemicals management.
The collaboration also includes joint management of the BreatheLife advocacy campaign to reduce air pollution for multiple climate, environment and health benefits.
In an interview, the WHO chief said despite the agreement being comprehensive, the two chiefs agreed to focus on air pollution.
“Air pollution is, as what we have agreed with my brother Erik, a present and current danger; and it’s affecting the health of the world, especially in cities. Our children are not really breathing well. They’re facing difficult health problems and that’s not something that we should spend for tomorrow; and that’s why we agreed to start with air pollution to really focus on that,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of World Health Organization said.
Tedros said the agreement includes a clear plan and follow-up mechanisms, adding that there will be accountability in the plan as well.
“The relationship will be at all levels – global, regional and country level – but mostly we will make sure that whatever we do brings change at country level especially in our cities which are really being affected by pollution. Both of us agree that we don’t want to see our children really suffering and unable to breathe,” Tedros said.
“This is really a no-brainer. Pollution is the biggest killer of humans in this age, and we need to tackle it from the environment point of view and the health point of view, and if we come together we are much much stronger. Let’s jointly set out the policy which the global cities, every city in the world, need to set out to move into electrical, transportation, to move into bicycling, to make green lungs in the city, and to clamp down on the pollution to that everyone, every child, every adult, every old person can really breathe nicely in the cities in the world,” Erik Solheim, the Executive Director at UNEP said.
According to environmentalists, health risks cause an estimated 12.6 million deaths a year.
This represents the most significant formal agreement on joint action across the spectrum of environment and health issues in over 15 years.
