Sanitation in the pan-European region: 12–13 February 2019, Bonn, Germany: meeting report

On 12 and 13 February 2019, 90 policymakers and experts from around the pan-European region came to Bonn for a workshop on sanitation under the Protocol on Water and Health. The workshop provided delegates with updates on the sanitation situation in the pan-European region from a health and environmental perspective, introduced them to a variety of tools and resources for improving sanitation in their countries, facilitated participant networking and sharing of experiences, promoted national target-setting under the Protocol and encouraged the delegates to articulate future needs for work within its framework. Among the topics discussed were sanitation safety planning, climate change, sanitation in rural areas and wastewater reuse. Executive summary is in English and Russian.

Protocol on water and health and the 2030 agenda: a practical guide for joint implementation

The main objective of this guide is to provide background information and step-by-step advice on how to identify, establish and operationalize the links between the Protocol on Water and Health and the water, sanitation and health related targets of the 2030 Agenda. The Guide presents a comprehensive and pragmatic approach for joint implementation and it is structured around two parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the synergies between the Protocol and the 2030 Agenda. It contains basic information and objectives on the treaty, and on the water, sanitation and health related targets of the 2030 Agenda, as well as on follow-up and review processes and on procedural mechanisms under the Protocol. Part 2 complements Part 1 by spelling out actions for implementation. It contains practical, step-by-step guidance on how to bring together Protocol and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation at the country level, as illustrated in the joint implementation checklist (see Figure 7). Concrete solutions are illustrated by a variety of country case studies, which are interspersed throughout Part 2. They reflect countries’ experiences and lessons learned with joint implementation and thus may inspire other countries in adapting the suggested approaches.

Improving health and learning through better water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: an information package for school staff

Access to safe and reliable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a critical precondition for providing a safe school environment that supports equal opportunities for high-quality education and healthy development of children. To create WASH-friendly and health-promoting schools, common problems beyond the provision of proper WASH infrastructure – such as toilets and taps – need to be addressed. Operation and maintenance, education and persisting taboos, such as talking about toilet use and menstrual hygiene matters, need to be tackled. This information package offers practical support for school staff on how to address common WASH problems and deliver improvements at the school level, alongside pupils and the entire school community. It will help schools strengthen health education and implement whole-school policies that promote the health, well-being and dignity of pupils and school staff, making every school a health-promoting school.

Surveillance and outbreak management of water-related infectious diseases associated with water-supply systems

The Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes is the key policy instrument for promoting better health through effective water management and water-related disease surveillance. Despite high access rates to improved water supplies, drinking-water supply systems are among the most important sources of water-related infectious diseases (WRID) posing a threat to public health in the pan-European region. This publication addresses surveillance and outbreak management of WRID associated with drinking-water supply systems, building on existing guidelines for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response. It aims to help countries to build on and strengthen their systems by providing technical information on the specific features, activities and methodologies related to WRID surveillance and outbreak management.

Strengthening drinking-water surveillance using risk-based approaches

The framework for safe drinking-water recommended by the WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality promotes a risk-based preventive management approach to ensure safety of drinking-water. Independent drinking-water surveillance is one of the core components of this framework and is an essential public health function. To be effective, drinking-water surveillance needs to be aligned with risk-based principles, including prioritization of monitoring parameters and surveillance efforts based on water safety plan outcomes. Risk-based drinking-water surveillance comprises an independent and periodic review of all aspects of drinking-water quality and public health safety in which water-quality monitoring, on-site inspections, hazard identification and risk and trend analysis are important components. Applying a risk-based approach in drinking-water surveillance helps countries to focus on the issues that are most important for the protection of public health and so maximizes the benefits that can accrue from limited resources.

Surveillance of water, sanitation and hygiene in schools: a practical tool

Adequate access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) in schools is every child’s right, as recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Protocol on Water and Health and the Ostrava Declaration on Environment and Health. Access to WASH in schools in the pan-European region presents many and diverse challenges. A key step to improve the situation, bringing better educational and health outcomes, is high-quality surveillance to raise awareness and drive progress. This publication provides a practical tool to support countries in strengthening surveillance of WASH in schools. The findings will inform the development of supportive regulations and improvement planning to safeguard children’s health, well-being, dignity and cognitive performance. The tool also enables countries to use the data collected to facilitate policy dialogue and inform international reporting, including on progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal targets related to WASH in schools.

Cycling and green jobs: key findings of the forthcoming joint report by UNEP, WHO and UNECE

The need to develop sustainable transport policies, which improve the quality of transport while contributing to better health, a cleaner environment and greater social cohesion, was one of the reasons for establishing the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP). This is an advance executive summary of a new study Riding towards the green economy: cycling and green jobs, undertaken in the context of THE PEP’s partnership on jobs in green and healthy transport. It builds on a 2014 publication Unlocking new opportunities – jobs in green and healthy transport by (1) reviewing the methods used in other studies to estimate the number of jobs associated with cycling for various locations and (2) gathering more evidence on cycling-related jobs directly from cities. This summary highlights the main findings of the study. The full report will be released later this year.

Guidance note on the development of action plans to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation

The Protocol on Water and Health specifies that in pursuing the aims of access to drinking water and provision of sanitation for everyone, special consideration should be paid to ensure equitable access to these services for all members of the population. The publication No one left behind: good practices to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation identified three critical factors in ensuring equitable access to water and sanitation: reducing geographical disparities; overcoming the barriers faced by vulnerable and marginalized groups; and addressing affordability concerns. The Equitable Access Score-card was built upon these three policy concerns. It is an analytical tool designed to help Governments and other stakeholders to establish a baseline measure of the equity of access to water and sanitation, identify related priorities, discuss further actions to be taken and evaluate progress through a process of self-assessment. The Guidance Note on the development of action plans aims to help countries in translating the priorities identified through the self-assessment into actions. Specific Equitable Access Action Plans are needed to guide country (or sub-national entity) efforts to achieve equitable access to water and sanitation by identifying priority actions to be implemented and ways of implementing them. The Note describes the content of Action Plans and their process of development.

Improving environment and health in Europe: how far have we gotten?

Pioneering the health-in-all-policies approach, the health ministries and environment ministries of WHO European Region Member States, together with many other European stakeholders, have gathered in five ministerial conferences, beginning in 1989, to identify priorities and develop appropriate policies for environment and health. At the latest such ministerial conference, held in Parma, Italy, in 2010, ministers and stakeholders committed themselves to pursuing a set of goals and targets on: air quality; water and sanitation; children’s daily environments; chemical safety and asbestos-related disease; climate change; and more. In 2015, at the so-called Mid-Term Review, Member States met to assess progress in implementing the Parma Agenda and to discuss future directions, in view of the upcoming 6th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, scheduled for 2017. As described in this Report, substantial progress has been made in several, but not all, domains; policies at the national and international levels have greatly advanced and produced measurable gains, but some indicators remain at levels that are of concern. More efforts are needed to reduce the still high burden of disease due to environmental factors and its unequal distribution among European citizens.

Water safety plans in eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia: summary of a workshop on building capacities for the development of water safety plans: 24–25 June 2014, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

The WHO Regional Office for Europe held a workshop entitled “Building capacities for the development of water safety plans” on 24–25 June 2014 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. This was intended to support implementation of the 2014–2016 programme of work of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and WHO Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. The primary purpose of the workshop was to increase understanding of and support for water safety plans (WSPs) by raising awareness among national governments to the WSP approach, its benefits and the lessons learned. It also had a longer-term vision of building the foundations for a sustainable scale-up of WSP implementation in countries of eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia (EECCA). A new WSP field guide in English and Russian was launched at the workshop; this provides hands-on advice for communities and local institutions working on rural water supplies. The workshop was attended by 78 delegates from the water and health sectors, including participants from 12 EECCA countries and a broad range of international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Amsterdam Declaration: making THE Link: transport choices for our health, environment and prosperity: Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme, THE PEP: Third High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 22–23 January 2009

Declaration adopted by the Third High-level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment held on 22-23 January 2009 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.The Declaration renewed political impetus to the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) and identified four priority goals to be reached by 2014 along with concrete mechanisms to achieve them.THE PEP is a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and WHO/Europe that promotes sustainable transport choices for our health, environment and prosperity.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe - UNECE

The UNECE website provides a forum for communication among States; brokers international legal instruments addressing trade, transport and the environment; and supplies statistics and economic and environmental analysis.

Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, London 17 June 1999

The Protocol was adopted on 17 June 1999 on the occasion of the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health held in London from 16 to 18 June 1999.