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Over the past ten years, great strides have been made to safeguard the health and well-being of our children. Millions of young lives have been saved as a result of increased immunization coverage and expanded basic social services, including primary health care, children’s and women’s nutrition programmes, and adequate water supply and sanitation. More children than ever are in school and important treaties and policies have been concluded or adopted by the international community and national governments to strengthen environmental protection measures and protect children from exploitation. Yet for all the
advances made, children everywhere continue to suffer the consequences
of environmental degradation. Collapsing ecosystems leave them less
able to realize their rights and sustain their basic needs: clean food,
air and water. Children are often the canaries in the coal mines. Their
health is a key barometer of the long-term effects of the decisions
and activities of adults. One decade ago,
the precursor to this publication, Children and the Environment,
jointly published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), warned its readers
that, “environmental degradation is killing children.” Today,
that warning echoes even louder. Children are exposed
to a series of environmental threats to their health, physical and mental
development – even their survival. Preliminary estimates suggest
that up to one-third of the global burden of disease can be attributed
to negative environmental indicators, such as polluted water and air.
The good news is that morbidity and mortality due to unhealthy environmental
conditions are largely preventable by taking decisive action and finding
innovative, healthy, cost-effective and sustainable ways to develop
and improve our livelihoods. As this book outlines,
prevention is the only sustainable solution: a healthy future for our
children will be ensured only through safeguarding the environment.
By illustrating the link between the environment and the well-being
of our children, Children in the New Millennium intends to raise awareness
and deepen our understanding of environmental health issues. Providing
an informed basis for action and practical recommendations at different
levels, the three United Nations agencies involved with the production
of Children in the New Millennium hope to inspire everyone who cares
about children to take decisive action that will improve both their
health and that of the environment. As this book goes
to press, the international community is engaged in two related intergovernmental
processes to review the progress made since the 1990 World Summit for
Children and the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(the “Earth Summit”). The reviews will culminate at the Special
Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children in May 2002
and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002. Taking
advantage of these opportunities, this book highlights in a timely manner
the mutually reinforcing goals of realising children’s rights and
managing environmental challenges of the 21st century. Children’s
environmental health issues have been recognized in many international
agreements and declarations over the past decade. The challenge before
us now is to translate the words of declarations into actions and emerge
ten years from now having addressed the linkages between children’s
health and the environment in a meaningful and measurable way. In ten
years the children on this planet should be healthier and happier as
a result of the decisions and actions we all take today. We are presently
witnessing an unprecedented pace of development in the world alongside
overwhelming social, economic and environmental transformations. In
this era of rapid change, it is imperative that we rally the will and
the imagination of us all to seize upon every opportunity to preserve
the health of our environment and create a better future for our children. A decade ago UNEP
and UNICEF affirmed that, “we owe our children a planet fit to
live on and capable of sustaining the future.” We have the opportunity
and the responsibility to fulfil this pledge. UNEP, UNICEF and the World
Health Organization (WHO) are fully committed within their spheres,
and together, to foster collaboration among UN agencies, governments
and civil society to place children’s environmental health interests
at the forefront of our agendas.
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