PHA-Exchange> TREATY TO PREVENT WATER-RELATED DISEASES IN EUROPE ENTERS INTO FORCE

[Claudio]

> > *TREATY TO PREVENT WATER-RELATED DISEASES IN EUROPE ENTERS INTO FORCE
> > *
> >
> > *Copenhagen/Rome -* The Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992
> > Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
> > International Lakes enters into force on 4 August 2005, following
> > ratification by the minimum 16 countries: Albania, Azerbaijan,
> > Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary,
> > Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Norway, Romania, the Russian Federation,
> > Slovakia and Ukraine. The Protocol will improve health by contributing
> > to the prevention, control and reduction of water-related diseases. It
> > covers both the provision of safe drinking-water and adequate
> > sanitation and the basin-wide protection of water resources. The
> > Protocol calls on the ratifying countries:
> >
> >     * to strengthen their health systems;
> >     * to improve planning for and management of water resources;
> >     * to improve the quality of water supply and sanitation services;
> >     * to address future health risks; and
> >     * to ensure safe recreational water environments.
> >
> > In the WHO European Region, the implementation of the Protocols
> > provisions is jointly coordinated by the WHO Regional Office for
> > Europe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
> >
> > Its a significant date for public health. The Protocol on Water and
> > Health is the worlds first legally binding international agreement in
> > the fight against water-related diseases,says Dr Marc Danzon, WHO
> > Regional Director for Europe. This is an effective instrument to help
> > ratifying countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
> >
> > Transboundary water resources are common in the Region. Some countries
> > depend on their neighbours for over 5090% of their water, so
> > international cooperation is crucial to ensure the sustainable use of
> > such resources.
> >
> > Lack of safe drinking-water and poor sanitation threaten the health of
> > millions of people in the WHO European Region. While most of the
> > Regions 877 million people take clean water for granted, too many
> > still lack a regular supply:
> >
> >     * almost 140 million (16%) do not have a household connection to a
> >       drinking-water supply;
> >     * 85 million (10%) do not have improved sanitation; and
> >     * over 41 million (5%) lack access to a safe drinking-water supply.
> >
> > Water-related diseases of microbiological origin that are identified
> > for priority action include cholera, bacillary dysentery,
> > enterohaemorrhagic/ Escherichia coli/, typhoid (and paratyphoid) and
> > viral hepatitis A. The countries that are Parties to the Protocol will
> > review their systems for disease surveillance and outbreak detection,
> > and implement the most appropriate measures to reduce disease,
> > including vaccination or water treatment and distribution measures.
> > Chemical contaminants of drinking-water and related diseases are also
> > under review.
> >
> > This aspect of implementing the Protocol contributes to achieving the
> > two Millennium Development Goals that include improving water supply
> > and sanitation and reducing child mortality. The incidence of
> > infectious diseases caused by poor-quality drinking-water is often
> > highest in children aged 611 months. In the WHO European Region, this
> > risk factor causes over 13 000 deaths from diarrhoea among children
> > aged 014 years (5.3% of all deaths in this age group) each year, with
> > the countries of central and Eastern Europe and central Asia bearing
> > the largest share of the burden.
> >
> > The entry into force of the Protocol is not the end, but the beginning
> > of a process intended to increase the number of European citizens with
> > access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation,concludes Dr
> > Roberto Bertollini, Director of the Special Programme on Health and
> > Environment at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. We encourage
> > countries to ratify the Protocol, thus developing a national and
> > international system to manage and use water resources safely and
> > sustainably, for the benefit of human health.
> >
> > Further information on the Protocol and the water and sanitation
> > programme of the WHO Regional Office for Europe is available on the
> > Regional Office web site (_http://www.euro.who.int/watsan_).
> >
> > **Thirty-six countries signed the Protocol during or after the Third
> > Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, held in London,
> > United Kingdom in 1999. Progress made under the Protocol since then
> > includes the building of a framework for setting country-specific
> > targets, harmonized data collection and reporting, and water-related
> > disease surveillance.**
> >