Regional Organizations and Activities

Response of NGO observers at the Meeting of the Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas

1. We welcome this first ever meeting of the Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas, and appreciate the importance of launching a set of initiatives to better integrate approaches to health and environment issues in the Americas. We particularly welcome the identification of common concerns and shared goals, especially the priority placed on the provision of clean water, and the commitments to build capacity (and build on existing capacity) in the countries of the Americas; to expand research and knowledge development; to develop better indicators (especially for children's environmental health) that allow us to monitor our progress — or lack of progress; to educate the public about issues of health and environment in sustainable human development; and to involve civil society in the work on health and environment at national and regional levels.

2. However, despite these promising initiatives, we believe the Ministers have failed to undertake action or to establish clear goals and benchmarks in several critical areas. Specifically, we call upon them to

• Ratify the Kyoto Protocol, because climate instability and climate change has serious health implication for the people of the Americas.
• Ensure that health and environment are central components in any future trade agreements, including the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
• Ratify the Stockholm Convention on POPs in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development later this year, and begin at once to implement its provisions.
• Set a target date of 2008 for the elimination of lead in gasoline throughout the Americas.
• Establish a target date of 2010 by which time 90 percent of the people of the Americas should have access to clean and safe drinking water.

Signed by

• Dr Trevor Hancock, Chair of the Board, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment 905 893 2808 (Cell 416 527 1360)
• Dawn Walker, Executive Director, Canadian Institute of Child Health Call 613 230 8838 (Cell 613 851 2322)
• Cyprian Gibson, Vice President, Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association cypgibson@hotmail,com
• Karen Perry, Deputy Director, Environment and Health Program, Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA Call Karen or Tarek Rizk — 202 667 4260
• Myroslava Tataryn, Member, Youth Roundtable on the Environment, (Canada), 613-547-5592

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