D I R E C T   F R O M   W H O

  In every one of the 51 countries of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) European region, the environment ministry has spoken to the health ministry and they have worked together. This ten-year process has been spearheaded by the WHO and backed up by an Environment and Health Committee whose success is a surprise for some, not least for its Chairman, Sir Kenneth Calman. "We have had no money at all," admits Calman. "And in some ways, that is our strength, because we haven't had to fight about it."

  London'99 is the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. We have had policies, identified in Frankfurt in 1989, planning, in Helsinki in 1994, and now with the London conference we move from a wish list to action next June 16-18.

  Member States have worked their way through a long consultative process with international government organisations to agree on documents, sessions and decisions for the conference. The links between the environment and public health will at last be addressed directly.

  What are the issues of London'99? One will be the Protocol on Water and Health, a broad measure that will be the first legally binding instrument to be introduced by the WHO, in partnership with UN/ECE. Currently, over 100 million people in Europe lack safe piped water, which can lead to infection, acute disease, disabilities and even death. Canals, rivers and other waterways can contain pesticides, sheep dip, sewage or hormones. A protocol is not a fairy wand to make everything sparkling and clean, but it is a tool.

  "Health is at the heart of this protocol," says Alan Pinter of the National Institute for Environmental Health in Hungary. In most countries, the experts know what could have been done to ensure that water is clean and safe, but without a legally binding commitment, such measures have just not been a priority until now.

  The Water and Health Protocol addresses adequate drinking water and sanitation, safe water for agriculture, aquaculture and recreation and effective systems for monitoring and managing risks for human health. It sets targets in 11 areas and timetables for implementation.

  The Charter on Transport, Environment and Health commits Member States to firm targets and to making health and environment a central part of transport planning. Many governments are pressing for it to lead to a legally binding convention next time around. Two million road accidents a year in Europe mean 120,000 deaths, a third of them to young people under 25. Another 80,000 deaths are attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution from road traffic which contributes to asthma, heart and circulation problems and lung cancer.

  The London Declaration will include commitments in other areas including: the health effects of climate change; the environment and children's health; local projects; public participation in environment and health matters; economics; research priorities; business, health and the environment; and National Environment and Health Action Plans. London'99 will also have an NGO forum called the Healthy Planet Forum. For more info: vge@who.dk.

— By Viv Taylor Gee,   
WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.