Overview
The Asia Pacific Regional Forum on Health and the Environment was established in 2004 in recognition of the threat that environmental hazards pose to human health. The Regional Forum seeks to create greater synergy among relevant government departments to address environmental and health issues.
The Regional Forum is to provide a platform of cooperation and collaboration between the health and environment sectors at the regional and country levels in terms of 1) sharing knowledge and experiences; 2) advocating for measures, policies and actions to protect the health and well-being caused by environmental risk factors; and 3) to promote other sectors such as transport, education, energy, trade and others to place the health of people at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Paris Agreement, Minamata Conventions and other International Conventions and Regional Initiatives.
The member countries serve the Chair of the Regional Forum on a voluntary basis.
Achievements
The Regional Forum encourages the member countries to develop and implement cost-effective National Environmental Health Action Plans. Some countries have developed national activities and obtained external assistance to the relevant activities such as awareness raising. At regional level, the Regional Forum is aligned with the various existing initiatives on health-environment nexus.
Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) have led by the TWG Chairs and undertaken various activities including:
- Workshops and trainings to disseminate information and provide learning opportunities,
- Policy briefs and guidelines development,
- Surveys and monitoring plan.
Contact
(Last updated on 1 August 2024)
