HEAL recently highlighted the importance of continued EU action to reduce pollution in a panel discussion at the Brain Innovation Days. The science on how exposure to air, chemicals or pesticides pollution harms healthy brain development keeps growing: a recent review of 40 empirical studies conducted across four continents has shed light on the concerning link between outdoor air pollution and children's brain development.
16 November 2017, Brussels – The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) joined a group of twenty organisations – lead by Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe – today to sent a Declaration to European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, expressing their deep concern about the threat posed by pharmaceuticals in the environment to European citizens, their communities, and the environment.
The Declaration comes during World Antibiotic Awareness Week and on the eve of European Antibiotic Awareness Day.
The consortium of organisations, which is made up of hospitals, health organisations, professional health and student associations, and health and environment NGOs, wrote to the Commissioner to highlight the importance of introducing ambitious legislation in the upcoming Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (due to be released in early 2018).
The press release by HCWH Europe can be found online here.
The Declaration, lead by HCWH Europe, can be found online here.