WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health James Creswick, Technical Officer WHO Regional Office for Europe

Protecting health in an environment challenged by climate change: European Regional Framework for Action Climate change, green health services and sustainable development (CGS): European Regional Framework for Action: edoc06rev1.pdf edoc06rev1.pdf

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Extreme Weather Events EuroHEAT project, co-funded by European Commission, focussed on: –Improving public health responses to heat-waves; –Development of heat-health action plans, their characteristics and core elements; –Probability warning every summer Development of guidance for other extreme weather events – flooding and cold-wave guidance expected late-2011.

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Pilot projects initiatives and results Seven-Country Initiative co-funded by WHO/Europe and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the European Commission National health VIA assessment: –Italy, Malta, Cyprus, and the seven countries Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Uzbekistan ; National government-approved adaptation strategies Economic assessment Scientific research results Green health services – economic assessment and country specific activities

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 CEHAPIS Project “Climate, Environment and Health Action Plan and Information System” co-funded project by WHO/Europe and DG SANCO. Aim to provide an evaluation of policy options for a successful health adaptation to climate change and monitor trends. 6 work packages, completed late 2010 and submitted to the European Commission early 2011.

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Linkages between CEHAPIS Work Packages Work Package 3 Definition of objectives & development of public health strategies Work Package 4 Analysis of the impacts & effectiveness of policy options and actions Work Package 5 Policy monitoring & assessment Work Package 2 Analysis of the consequences of climate change Work Package 6 Communication & advocacy Work Package 1 – Management and coordination

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 WHO Contribution to the Clearinghouse Threat specific information –Extreme weather events, specifically: Health responses to heat-waves and prediction tool Cold-waves and flooding, guidance expected late-2011 –Infectious disease and IHR specifications and country assessments Policy related assessment material: –Health impact assessment of policies and measures (CEHAPIS) –Vulnerability assessment template (Seven-Country Initiative) –National health adaptation action: essential elements –Economic damage and adaptation national assessment tool –Indicators Training materials and toolkit: –Health effects of climate change –How to assess the health effects –Economic assessment –National adaptation strategies

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 European Environment and Health Information System (ENHIS) The system currently includes 22 health-related indicators 2011 update expected Developing methodologies for 18 new indicators that will be used to monitor time-bound Parma commitments Existing data New surveillance programs Plan to incorporate 16 CEHAPIS indicators into ENHIS

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Regional Priority Goals to protect children’s health Improving access to safe water and sanitation Addressing obesity and injuries Improving outdoor and indoor air quality Preventing disease arising from chemical, biological and physical environments

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Topic areas for health-relevant indicators of climate change 1.Extreme weather events 1.1 Excess heat 1.2 Floods 2.Air quality 2.1 Ambient air quality 2.2 Air-borne pollen/allergens 3.Infectious diseases 3.1 Food-borne diseases 3.2 Water-borne diseases 3.3 Vector-borne diseases

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Tentative timeline for the implementation of new ENHIS indicators for Parma monitoring March 2010: Parma commitments established November 2010: WHO consultation selected 18 indicators for Parma monitoring April 2011: WHO consultation defined methodologies for new data collection to assess exposure to indoor air pollutants in schools September 2011: WHO meeting on data collection methodologies October 2011: 1 st session of European Environment and Health Task Force discuss Parma monitoring methods Late 2011: New web-platform for ENHIS – dynamically-generated material Early 2012: Pilot testing of new data collection methods in selected countries Final survey protocols: mid-2012 Survey implementation: –Baseline round: winter 2012 – 2013 –Follow-up surveys: winter 2014 – 2015 Spring 2016: Progress assessment report for the 6 th Ministerial Conference

WHO Activities in Climate Change and Health 30 June, 2011 Thank You! James Creswick Technical Officer, Climate Change and Health WHO European Centre for Environment and Health