@ green | September-October , 2022

Malaysia hosts the 16th World Congress on Environmental Health at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur

BY FATIHAH MANAF

The World Congress on Environmental Health ( WCEH ) is a bi-annual event that aims to provide a forum for environmental health practitioners to discuss and tackle challenges and problems faced by them in the environmental health sector .

WCEH is initiated by the International Federation of Environmental Health ( IFEH ) but is organised by the country ’ s respective environmental health representative . The 16th edition of the event , WCEH 2022 , was successfully organised by the Malaysian Association of Environmental Health ( MAEH ) at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur , from Aug 23-25 , 2022 .

The theme of the congress was ‘ Environmental Health Issues , Challenges and Sustainability : Covid-19 Pandemic ’, focusing on tackling challenges faced by environmental health practitioners from different countries during the pandemic .

During the opening ceremony of WCEH 2022 , MAEH President Megat Azman Megat Mokhtar revealed that it was the second time Malaysia has become the host of the event since 1994 . On behalf of the association , Megat expressed his excitement in organising the congress after 28 years .

Complementing the public health system

Megat said : “ The Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated that societies need to strengthen their resilience to the pandemic and other emergencies . Countries are concentrating in the short term on shoring up the public health system and addressing the immediate economic impact of the crisis .

“ But , in the medium to longer term , enhancing the environmental health of societies , for example , aspects of human health and well-being that are determined by environmental factors , is a key component to the economy , recovery and stimulus measures that governments are currently designing .”

He said limiting people ’ s exposure to hazardous physical , chemical , and biological agents in air , water and soil , food , and other environmental media will reduce their vulnerability to future pandemics . It will also help increase people ’ s health and well-being and complement the public health system .

“ I strongly feel that collaborating in need of the hour and uniting our environmental health for a common cause can work wonders . I sincerely hope this conference will have our practitioners take strong resolutions on how they can move closer towards attaining our goals ,” he added .

Handover of IFEH Presidency

The opening ceremony of WCEH 2022 also witnessed the handover of the IFEH Presidency by IFEH Outgoing President Prof . Susana Paixao to Dr Henroy Scarlett from Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspector .

During the last two years , Paixao has worked tirelessly to engage with the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) and United Nations Conference of the Parties ( COP ) meetings on climate change to get environmental health more integrated into the overall agenda .

In her speech , Paixao highlighted that the environmental health workforce had to be resilient as they had to deal with problems , adapt to changes , overcome obstacles and resist the pressure of adverse situations to achieve a better health situation worldwide .

“ The pandemic has come to demonstrate the vital role of the environmental health professionals all over . We must take advantage of this window of opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of environmental health . Working within the scope of health promotion and disease prevention is key to the adversity the world is experiencing , the climate change and new epidemics ahead .

“ Therefore , it is important to organise these events , to share knowledge and information to keep us updated to achieve these goals .”

Recognising the importance of environmental health workforce

Paixao believes the environmental health workforce is increasingly playing a leading role in building a healthier and more sustainable world , especially with the help of IFEH . IFEH works to disseminate knowledge concerning environmental health and promote cooperation between countries where environmental health issues are transboundary .

The federation promotes the interchange of people working in this sector and the exchange of Member ’ s publications of a scientific and technical nature .

“ I will continue to work towards a better and more recognised environmental health workforce worldwide ,” added Paixao before extending her best wishes to the new IFEH President , Dr Scarlett , who will hold the IFEH Presidency until 2024 .

During his speech , Dr Scarlett pointed out that almost all diseases had environmental contributions . He then emphasised that there was a need to advocate for a more significant proportion of the global budget to be spent on environmental health if the world is serious about preventing preventable diseases and promoting health and wellness in the population . – @ Green