Health and Environment Alliance | News & Media: Health and Diseases

Celebrating 20 years of HEAL

26th October 2023

Twenty years ago, I realised that environmental pollution is linked to ill health and serious acute and chronic diseases, like cancer, asthma and respiratory diseases. This is when I launched into my environmental health journey and founded HEAL. It became clear to me that our ways of living and the environmental pollution resulting from that impacted our health. I wanted to know more about the impacts and the extent, how much of it was preventable, and what role and power policy-making could have in it....

HEAL General Assembly 2023 – celebrating 20 years of work towards a healthy planet for healthy people

16th October 2023

In October 2023, HEAL hosted its annual General Assembly gathering members and partners together. This year was a special occasion to celebrate the achievements in protecting people’s health against environment and climate threats since the organisation's inception 20 years ago, and to look ahead.

Letter to Ursula von der Leyen on the nomination of Wopke Hoekstra as Climate Commissioner

5th September 2023

The Green 10, of which HEAL is part of, has written a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to express their concern about the nomination of the Dutch Designate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra as Climate Commissioner:

HEAL urges ministers to step up on action against pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss

13th July 2023

During the 7th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the Budapest Declaration to accelerate action for healthier people, a thriving planet and a sustainable future was adopted by health and environment ministers of countries of the WHO European region.

Nature restoration law must be adopted, to protect nature and to boost health

11th July 2023

Ahead of a key European Parliament vote on the nature restoration law, HEAL urges members of the European Parliament to support this key proposal for people’s health and well-being.

The WHO Europe Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health: addressing the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution on health

28th June 2023

The Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional office for Europe, between 5 - 7 July in Budapest, gathers decision makers to help define future environment and health priorities in the European region. To increase civil society engagement and speed up action on key areas of environmental health, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) will participate in this key conference.

Health benefits of a Green Deal approach in Turkey

17th May 2023

A new briefing by HEAL (in English and in Turkish), as part of the EU funded CISIP project, underlines the many health benefits that could be gained if Turkish decision-makers implemented stronger Green Deal action. Turkey’s Green Deal Action Plan, launched in 2021, sets 32 objectives and 81 actions, including on a Green and Circular Economy, secure energy supply and sustainable agriculture. However, contrary to the EU Green Deal which was adopted in 2019, the Turkish plan doesn’t set any tangible targets or deadlines.

On the road towards the seventh WHO Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health

22nd April 2023

As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, HEAL recently hosted the European Environment and Health Task Force (EHTF) in its Brussels office. The EHTF leads the implementation and monitoring of the WHO European Environment and Health Process (EHP) which ensures environmental and health issues are high on the political agenda, and supports the preparation of the Ministerial Conferences on Environment and Health.

EU leadership on Green Deal and Zero Pollution action across the WHO European region

20th April 2023

Ahead of the recent meeting of the WHO European Environment and Health Task Force, a briefing was held by the permanent representation of Hungary to the EU, where HEAL Executive Director Génon Jensen discussed HEAL’s perspectives on priorities and expectations from civil society. She called for action ahead of the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health and offered a menu of issues that require ambitious and urgent policy action on environment and health in Europe, and in which the EU is poised to take a leadership role for the European region, as part of the implementation of the EU Green Deal, with its objective of zero pollution and do no harm at its core.

Polyrisk flyer: How micro- and nanoplastics in the environment might impact our health and immune system

30th March 2023

While evidence of the existence of microplastics within our bodies exists, we currently do not know how they affect human health. This new Polyrisk flyer illustrates how this EU-funded project aims to advance the science of how MNPs in our environment impacts health, particularly in relation to the immune system.

Webinar: The Ohio Train Derailment: Impacts and Emerging Lessons

22nd March 2023

Mid-term review of the FREIA project: updates and next steps on how novel research is helping identify endocrine disrupting chemicals that harm female reproductive health

14th March 2023

To mark the start of the final stages of FREIA, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) has teamed up with the research project to launch a review of its main findings and milestones of research into the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on female reproductive health thus far.

The ATHLETE project holds its fifth consortium meeting – updates on exposome research and early life exposure

10th February 2023

Around 140 researchers representing 23 different partners from 12 countries gathered in Barcelona, Spain and online for the fifth annual consortium meeting of ATHLETE, an EU-funded project that aims to better understand how our environment can impact human health from pregnancy to adolescence by studying the human exposome.

HEAL contributor to WHO Europe roadmap on reducing noncommunicable diseases

13th January 2023

In December 2020, the Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe established the Advisory Council on Innovation for Noncommunicable Diseases (‎NCD Advisory Council)‎, on which HEAL’s Executive DIrector…

HEAL General Assembly 2022

13th December 2022

For the first time since 2019, HEAL members came together in person in Brussels again, for the HEAL Annual General Assembly in October 2022. The HEAL secretariat and members spent…

HEAL at WHO Bonn Dialogue on Environment and Health: risk communication for environment and health

20th October 2022

HEAL’s Anne Stauffer spoke at the fourth of a series of high-level Bonn Dialogues on Environment and Health, held by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (ECEH), under…

Heatwaves – A major health threat

11th August 2022

HEAL dives into the impacts of heatwaves on human health and what policy action is needed to stop this from happening.

HEAL and European Cancer Leagues relaunch infographic illustrating how Europe can prevent cancer by tackling environmental pollutants

25th May 2022

To mark the start of the European Week Against Cancer 2022, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the European Cancer Leagues (ECL) have teamed up to relaunch an infographic telling the story behind environmental cancer prevention.

HERA Final Conference: Research for the Green Deal / La Recherche pour le Pact vert

9th March 2022

The Health Environment Research Agenda for Europe (HERA), of which HEAL is a project partner, will hold its final conference on 18 March 2022, taking place in Paris and as…

Webinar: How prenatal and postnatal exposure to PFAS affects child cardiometabolic health and inflammatory biomarkers – six European cohorts

14th February 2022

Join us for a special webinar on February 23rd to explore how prenatal and postnatal exposure to PFAS affects child cardiometabolic health and inflammatory biomarkers.