Statement by the Western Cape Department of Health

"Our children - safe at home, at school, at play"

World Health Day 2003 focuses on preventing and managing environmental health risks. This follows South Africa’s commitment at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development to partner the World Health Organization (WHO) in campaigning for "Healthy Environments for Children".

The media are welcome to attend the "Extended" World Health Day on Tuesday, the 8^th of April 2003. It takes the form of a Community event at the Bloekombos Community Centre. Among the many and varied items on the programme are:

• Exhibitions
• Pledge signing
• Demonstration of "safe shack" (an educational tool to build awareness about accident prevention).

This event will highlight challenges such as poisoning, burns and various other accidents and challenges that undermine the health of children in urban areas particularly in the historically disadvantaged areas such as informal settlements.

We will be encouraging the children present to raise their concerns and highlight their priorities and give us a general view of their expectations. It will be a real interaction, government meeting the people.

There are many factors that threaten environmental health:

• Contaminated water and poor sanitation
• Unhygienically prepared food
• Poor housing and poor indoor quality
• Inappropriate waste management
• Air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels for energy sources
• Noise pollution caused by too-loud music and vehicles
• Poor chemical-safety management
• Rising levels of carbon dioxide

In addition, children’s health is endangered by the high levels of natural or man-made toxic substances in the air, water, soil and food chain. Unsafe chemicals in household products and toys can also be a threat.

These threats are made worse by widespread poverty; and the vicious cycle of environmental health threats, poverty and ill health persists.

According to the WHO’s 2002 report on unhealthy environments, there have been:

• 2 million deaths from acute respiratory infections are aggravated by indoor air pollution
• 1.3 million diarrhoeal deaths are mostly from unsafe food and water, and inadequate hygiene practices
• 1 million deaths from environment-related infectious diseases like malaria and hepatitis
• 400,000 deaths as a result of road accidents, drowning, burns and poisoning.

throughout the month of April, other events will be taking place in various parts of the Western Cape. These events will support the theme of a Healthy Environment for Children, and we will keep the Media informed of these.

We are counting on you to help us create a Healthy Environment for our Children and fight diseases in our society.

Issued by the Health Communications Directorate