Netzwerk Kindergesundheit und Umwelt (Hrsg.) Kind ... - APUG

INCHES
Report and minutes of the General Assembly 2004 of INCHES
The first General Assembly of INCHES after the change into an Association took place on April 3 rd
after the International Conference on Children’s Health and Environment (ICCHE 2004) in London.
A wide range of INCHES members and interested persons participated in the meeting.
The meeting took place in London from 9.00 until 12.30 in the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine.
• Chair of INCHES: Peter van den Hazel, the Netherlands
• Secretary of INCHES: Stephan Boese-O’Reilly, Munich, Germany
• Treasurer: Peter van den Hazel, the Netherlands
Membership fees
- No membership fee was set. Organizations are free to contribute to INCHES. Obligation of
contribution can be hours of voluntary work for INCHES. Every 6 to 12 month a format should be
circulated to assess financial contribution or other activities as contributions to INCHES.
- There was a long discussion on all aspects of funding. If a funding for a project would be available,
a decision needs to be made, whether this funding is acceptable in respect to the independency of
INCHES. It is essential that INCHES keeps its independency and credibility.
Training activities
- The European Union is sponsoring INCHES to develop a training manual in Europe. The project is
called CHEST (Children’s Health, Environment and Safety Training) and will start in May 2004.
- WHO-HQ is developing training materials on Children’s Health and Environment. Pediatricians
should become more competent with environmental medicine of the WHO modules. WHO is planning
to finalize the material 2004/2005 and to start first train the trainer programs (Cancun, Mexico
August 2004).
- Translating training material is essential to use it worldwide. The development of training materials
needs to be coordinated, which could be done by the INCHES members in the different committees
that develop materials. A global inventory of existing training material is necessary.
- Further training activities are needed worldwide. Funding for post-graduate training activities might
be available.
- Medical students need to be trained by far more in environmental medicine at the universities.
- Another example was given by Sandy Wiggins on training moduels that have been in use in the USA.
They could also serve as examples.
Projects
- Taking environmental history should be emphasized by INCHES, eg the green form from ISDE-
Argentina.
- Regional problems were discussed, and many possible projects were discussed. But no special
project was planned in detail.
- The participants were asked to prepare more detailed proposals and to communicate them through
INCHES to find e.g. possible partners and to co-operate with each other
(by S. Boese-O´Reilly)
64 Kind - Umwelt - Gesundheit: Aktivitäten von Nichtregierungsorganisationen