Take Action

With a few notable exceptions, little has been done since 2017 to deal with this public health crisis. Wealthy countries are mostly on top of things, and a few aspects of pollution in a few LMICs have progressed a little. But on the whole, resources, policies and planning are severely lacking, both in affected country planning, and in development assistance. We are going backwards.

Solutions & Recommendations

The triumvirate of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are the key global environmental issues of our time. We cannot ignore pollution, with its enormous health impact, as all three are intricately linked, and benefits in solving one spill over into other issues. Urgent attention is needed to control disease-causing pollution, with an emphasis on air pollution and lead poisoning, as well as a stronger focus on hazardous chemical pollution including mercury Pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are closely linked. Successful control of these conjoined threats requires a globally supported, formal science-policy interface to inform intervention, influence research and guide funding.

Pollution has been viewed as a local issue to be addressed through subnational, national or regional regulation and policy. However, it has become increasingly clear that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, dispersion, and health impacts transcend local boundaries and demand a global response.

What is needed is nothing short of a massive, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. That will provide an effective strategy for preventing pollution, while also slowing climate change and thus achieving a double benefit for planetary health. The Lancet Commission on pollution and health recommends the following eight - point plan, which builds on its previous recommendations:

International organizations and national governments need to continue expanding the focus on pollution as one of the triumvirate of global environmental issues, alongside climate change and biodiversity

Affected countries must focus resources on addressing air pollution, lead and chemical pollution, as well as a massive, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy

Private and government donors need to allocate funding for pollution management to support Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) prioritization processes programs implementation and support should give greater voice to LMICs in setting priorities during these processes

All sectors need to integrate pollution control into plans to address other key threats – climate, biodiversity, one health, food and agriculture

International organizations need to approve and establish a Science Policy Interface (SPI) for pollution, initially for chemicals, waste, and air pollution

International organizations need to significantly rev ise pollution tracking for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to correctly represent the impact of chemicals pollution including heavy metals

International organizations and national governments need to invest in generating data and analytics to underpin evidence - based interventions to address environmental health risks

International organizations and national governments need to adopt uniform and appropriate sampling protocols to collect evidence on exposure to hazardous chemicals that can be compared or generalized across LMICs

1 / 8

Health and Pollution Action Plan

The Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) program is designed to assist governments of low- and middle-income countries to develop and implement solutions to pollution-related health challenges.

The HPAP program is facilitated by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), which is a consortium of national ministries of health and environment, international development banks, United Nations agencies, bilateral development agencies, NGOs and other actors working on pollution (gahp.net). The HPAP program brings together national Ministries of Environment, Health, Production/Industry, Transport, Energy, Mining, Agriculture, as well as Civil Society Organizations, academia and others to advance concrete pollution actions.

Mission and Vision

The HPAP differs from other planning process because it is intentionally structured to bring together different agencies and parties who usually do not work closely together. It is intended to promote collaboration, and have well defined and practical outcomes, including commitments by all participants to undertake practical and well-defined short and medium term actions for improved environmental health. The HPAP clearly defines what can be done with current resources and what could be achieved with further support, in terms of regulation, technical capacity and investment. GAHP members support the HPAP working group participants to identify additional resources and help to obtain them.

The goals of the HPAP program are:

• Assist governments to identify, evaluate and prioritize existing pollution issues based on health impacts
• Establish pollution as a priority for action within national agencies and development plans
• Define and advance concrete interventions to reduce pollution exposures and related illnesses

Team

The HPAP program is a collaborative process of research, planning and implementation of pollution management actions. The HPAP process is driven by national government agencies, with facilitation and support by GAHP members.

Target Audience

The HPAP process is designed to facilitate collaboration between and amongst diverse government agencies that are typically siloed from each other. Civil society organizations, academics, and donor agencies are also part of the HPAP process.

Countries involved

HPAPs have been completed in Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Central Kalimantan Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Philippines, Senegal, Tanzania, Tajikistan, and Thailand. In 2022 an HPAP process is underway in Azerbaijan and several countries have requested to have the process started in their country. For a summary of HPAP outcomes and priority areas identified in each country, please click [here](/documents/Supplemental_materials_all together_submitted.docx).

Partners and Supporters

HPAPs have been completed with the support of national ministries of health and environment, international development banks, United Nations agencies, bilateral development agencies, NGOs and other actors working on pollution.

Planned Activities / Timeline

The HPAP process is flexible and tailored to the needs of each country, but generally includes the following steps:

1. The HPAP process begins with a period of data collection by the GAHP Secretariat and Ministries of Health and Environment to organize and analyze all available information on health impacts from pollution and existing pollution management programs. Relevant pollution issues likely include indoor and outdoor air pollution, unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, chemical contamination of soil, and occupational exposures to pollutants. Information about existing national and international programs are incorporated.
2. Following an initial period of data collection, senior representatives from relevant government agencies, NGOs and international organizations assemble for an Inception Meeting to review available data, identify data gaps, share information about ongoing programs, and establish a common approach to prioritizing pollution issues. Facilitators from GAHP provide relevant data on national health impacts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), among other data sources. Representatives from national agencies present locally generated data on pollution levels and associated health impacts. The output from the Inception Meeting is a Summary Report outlining priority pollution issues, next steps, and the ongoing roles and responsibilities of the participants in the HPAP process.
3. In the months following the Inception Meeting, participants conduct a review of priority pollutant sources according to their health impact to determine where interventions need to be undertaken to reduce pollution exposures, and to identify and analyze cost-effective actions.
4. Participants then assemble for a final Strategy Development Meeting to present and analyze potential actions and interventions, and to create a national Health and Pollution Action Plan to reduce health impacts from priority pollution issues. Recommended actions and strategies are selected, taking into account local economics, political, and social realities. The outcome is a roadmap describing priority pollutants and pollution sources, health impacts, recommended actions and interventions to reduce exposures, and potential sources of funding and technical support.
5. Once the Action Plan is created, GAHP members work with national agencies and international development organizations to integrate the Action Plan into domestic initiatives and international development programs, identify funding sources and accelerate concrete actions to reduce health impacts. In some cases, this process can be completed in just a few months, whereas in other countries more time may be needed to identify, collect and analyze data and develop appropriate strategies and actions. The Action Plan does not have a tightly defined format and is a living document, subject to review and revision when circumstances change significantly.

Resources

HPAP factsheets in English, French, Spanish, Russian
HPAP manual
Completed HPAP reports on GAHP website

Frequently asked questions