(HEMA) Initiative. - OAS

PREVIOUS DOCUMENTS From Ottawa to Mar del Plata
advance prevention and mitigation of environmental threats to human health at the national and
regional level. The Task Force was comprised of ten senior government representatives from the
health and environment sectors of each of the five sub-regions of the Americas (North America,
Central America, Caribbean, Andean Region, and Southern Cone). Argentina, as the future chair of
the Summit of the Americas, and PAHO, UNEP-ROLAC and OAS as regional bodies of the
Americas, attended the Task Force Team as participatory observers.
The Task Force, co-chaired and funded by Canada, met three times in 2003. To encourage synergy
and avoid duplication of efforts in health and the environment goals and priorities, regional and
multinational organizations like the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC), the World Bank, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the European
Union, PAHO, UNEP-ROLAC and the OAS officials were invited to make presentations at the Task
Force meetings. The meetings acknowledged that adopting the HEMA follow-up process would
offer an opportunity to better understand health and the environment linkages.
Along with the discussion on the follow-up process structure, the Task Force committed itself to
build an inventory of health and environment activities to showcase efforts being made in bringing
HEMA goals and priorities into action. In this exercise, Task Force members realized that while
there can be a general hemispheric direction for priority actions in fulfilling HEMA goals and priorities,
specifics of each sub-region and each country should be equally acknowledged. By the end
of the third meeting, the Task Force, as mandated by Ministers, developed a follow-up process. In
addition to conducting an inventory of health and environment initiatives underway in the
Americas, the Task Force identified fifteen projects that would assist in the achievement of the
goals articulated by Ministers in 2002.
The Follow-up Structure: HEMA Working Group
Following Ministerial endorsement 3 of the Task Force’s work in early 2004, the HEMA process
received a follow-up structure, namely the HEMA Working Group. PAHO, UNEP-ROLAC and OAS
continued to retain the status of participating observers while Argentina joined Canada as a cochair
of the Working Group. Along with co-chairing, Canada continued to provide Secretariat support
to the Working Group.
Building upon the work of the Task Force, the Working Group was expected to monitor progress,
foster the exchange of expertise and information, advise decision makers on health and environment
issues, ensure implementation of HEMA commitments and develop a strategy for the HEMA
II Ministerial meeting in 2005.
Working Group meetings provided an opportunity for participants to update each other on
developments that support HEMA and brainstorm on needed direction to harness support in
implementing priority projects. The Working Group met three times in 2004-05 and developed a
consensus on three priority areas for hemispheric action. It also began preparations for the HEMA
II Ministerial meeting.
MAKING THE HEMA GOALS HAPPEN
The Ottawa Ministerial Declaration (Paragraph 9 of the HEMA Communiqué) outlined initial
goals and priorities. Progress made in the implementation of these goals are described below. It
needs to be kept in mind that in the absence of well-defined measurable targets, it is not easy to
evaluate progress in implementation of these goals and priorities. Furthermore, it is too early to
gauge impact of implementation of these goals.
Goal A: Advancing the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council Vision 21 Goals 2015 and 2025 towards
universal coverage and hygiene, adopting the Millennium Summit Goals related to water, and developing and
using practical technologies related to both water and sanitation.
10 | June 16 - 17, 2005 - Mar del Plata - Argentina