Three decades of environment and health

In the late 1980s, European countries initiated the first-ever process to eliminate the most significant environmental threats to human health. Established and governed by Member States of the WHO European Region, the EHP serves as a dynamic intersectoral platform for developing and implementing policies that promote environment, health, and well-being throughout the Region.

The EHP’s objectives and priorities are defined by the Ministerial Conferences on Environment and Health that convene every 5–7 years. Through these conferences, the EHP has been fostering agreements on critical issues within an evolving environment and health agenda, guiding country-level actions.

Sensitive to the unique circumstances of its 53 Member States, the EHP remains fully aligned with global initiatives such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

At the most recent Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, convened in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023, the EHP defined the future environment and health priorities and commitments for the WHO European Region, with a focus on addressing the health dimensions of the triple environmental crisis of climate change, environmental pollution and biodiversity loss.

The key outcome of this high-level gathering was the Budapest Declaration and its Roadmap to 2030, which emphasized the urgent need for immediate and comprehensive measures to address health concerns arising from the triple crisis, while also navigating the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.