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Background
Paper For the Workshop "Stakeholder
Citizenship and the Health Sector" 2/3
February 2002, NY
2.
Examples of Activities, Organisations, Networks
/ PART II
Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): Biotechnology Biotechnology
and Food Safety NGO Consultation Meeting: The
OECD has been helping governments since 1982 in forging international guidelines
for the development of products using modern biotechnology. The OECD is now
intensifying its work in the areas of biotechnology and food safety. One
important element in this work is consultation with civil society. A
large number of representatives of scientific associations and NGOs met to
discuss biotechnology and food safety in November 1999. Representatives of some
50 bodies from civil society and from the scientific and business communities
attended. Discussions focused on three main topics - consumer concerns,
environmental concerns and agro-food concerns. http://www.oecd.org/subject/biotech/ngoconsultation.htm Also
see UNED case study at http://www.earthsummit2002.org/msp/examples/ex-oecd.htm OECD
and Biotechnology: Health
care in the developed world is facing a massive surge of new knowledge and new
technologies, deriving in particular from modern biotechnology and genomics, and
driven forward by the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. How should
governments react, respond or intelligently anticipate the resulting
implications for public policy? In February 1995, the OECD established a
working group on Human-Health-Related Biotechnologies. The first responsibility
of this group was to oversee a major study on the economic aspects of such
innovations. This report contains two parts: ·
Part
I: Biotechnology and Medical Innovation: Socio-Economic Assessment of the
Technology, the Potential and the Products. As the title
indicates, this volume focuses on the details of the technology and on methods
of economic evaluation and presents illustrative case studies. It addresses the
increasing interest in such methods, not only in governments, but also among
academic researchers with an interest in public policy and in economics; as well
as industrial firms, large and small, whose innovations are expected to
withstand such appraisal. ·
Part
II: Biotechnology, Medical Innovation and the Economy: The Key
Relationships. This part of the report looks at economic appraisals
and decisions e.g. on reimbursement, which are an important dimension of
socio-economic assessment. It is in the public interest, indeed essential for
survival and competitiveness in an open world economy, that governments
encourage innovation and provide appropriate conditions within which companies
may successfully launch products and services, profiting from the general rapid
progress of knowledge and scientific understanding. Partnership
Brokers Forum Building
partnerships for sustainable development: A
project of the Resource Centre for the social dimensions of business practices,
commissioned by the Partners in Action programme, a partnership of the United
Nations Staff College and The Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum.
Brokers carry
responsibility for the process of building a partnership and ensuring its
effective functioning. The partnership building process is a complex process
with four distinct phases - each phase requires the broker to fufil specific
tasks or responsibilities which in turn require distinct roles or skills. To
support the broker in this process, a leadership compass will help the broker
select the appropriate roles within phases. The broker is representative of a
new kind of leader, one that guides and supports rather than directs. People
First India Universal
Charter of Good Governance for global sustainability: At the turn of the
millennium, the world is witnessing major advancements in science and
technological innovations. New frontiers are being established in technologies
such as information, genetics, ocean, space and nano. The world is also
witnessing unprecedented expansion in industrial growth, generation of wealth,
financial markets and globalisation. website:
http://www.peoplefirstindia.org/5universial.htm Society
for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) PRIA
is
a Delhi based voluntary development organisation, striving for socio-economic
and socio political equality and welfare. PRIA undertakes a wide range of social
initiatives within the perspective of participatory development and research.
Its key interventions are in the area of Civil
Society Development, Local
Self Governance, Environmentally
Sustainable Industrial Development and promotion of citizen's Participation
in Development. Women and marginalised section find special focus in
all our work. PRIA is proud to reach out locally, nationally and globally. The three primary strategies of PRIA's work comprise of:
Projects
undertaken at PRIA include: AIDS
and the Health Care Workers; Case
Study on VEC; Citizen
Education; Civil
Society, Citizenship and Social Action; Dynamics
of realising safe and healthy working environment; Enabling
Environment for Civil Society; Environmental
Damages and unaccountable deaths of Migrant Labour Gujrat earthquake;
Governance
of Voluntary Development Organisations; International
Forum on Capacity Building of Southern NGO's; John
Hopkins Comparative Non Profit Sector Project; Mind
Project; Multi
Stake Holders dialogue for Environmentally Sustainable Industrial Development
Perspective; Participatory
Research - An Alternative; Plight
of race Course Workers in New Delhi; PPME
Alumni Intervention; PRIA
20 years Aniversary Programme; Promoting
Citizens Advocacy and Monitoring; Reflections
on Participatory Evaluation; Resourcing
Civil Society; Strategic
Planning; Strengthening
Citizen's Monitoring; Strengthning
Capacity for Participatory Development; Study
on Assessing Impact of Capacity Building interventions of RSOs and PRIA at the
grassroots; Study
on Effectiveness of village level Institutions; Study
on Shraddanand Mahilashram's Parishramalaya; The
Common Wealth Millennium Project; The
plight of workers in Export Processing Zone in India; Understanding
Partcipation; Women
Workers: Gender Concerns vis -a -vis Occupational health; Womens
Empowerment through Literacy and Livelihood Project AIDS
and the Health Care Workers: The
study ‘AIDS and Health Care Workers’ is based on a detailed survey of three
selected hospitals of the Municipal Corporation, Mumbai, Maharastra. The
Municipal Corporation, Mumbai runs three medical colleges, one dental college,
five nursing colleges and three colleges for physiotherapists. The corporation
also manages 25 public hospitals and 25 maternity hospitals besides a network of
municipal dispensaries and community health workers. These sections are
represented by many unions. The study selected three large hospitals -- KEM at
Parel, the TB Hospital at Sewri and Nair Hospital in Central Mumbai. http://www.pria.org/cgi-bin/studyreport.htm?r_reportid=16 Governance
of Voluntary Development Organisations (-Dr.
Rajesh Tandon and Veronica George): The
governance of VDOs has remained an area of limited study, though it is beginning
to gain attention. This paper attempts to describe the various dimensions,
aspects and issues related to governance of VDOs. http://www.pria.org/cgi-bin/studyreport.htm?r_reportid=40 Multi
Stake Holders dialogue for Environmentally Sustainable Industrial Development
Perspective: Industrial
development is generally welcomed by all - Governments that plan and provide the
infra structure for the development, by industrial houses and contractors who
invest in implementing these plans and look forward to obtaining profits, and
the public at large - who see industrialisation as an opportunity for employment
and a way to enhance their quality of life. On the other hand, there are
voluntary organisations and environmentalists who understand the need for
industrialisation, however, they concern themselves more with the negative
impacts of this process - pollution, degradation of natural resources, the
dislocation or displacement of communities, the breakdown of structures that
support traditional occupations and community institutions. This
continuous struggle between people and alien policy, environment and development
is not a new phenomenon. The struggle seldom finds space for resolution, since
all the parties concerned are very definite in their opinions and views and
negotiations are seen as weakening of stands. What is needed therefore is a
sustainable and realistic solution where the interests of all parties are
protected and a conducive atmosphere created for the co-existence of community
and the industry. For this, an alternate model should be developed keeping in
mind the ground realities and limitations. The
document highlights the proceedings of a Public Hearing on March 14, 1999 in
Chiplun (Maharashtra) organised by Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
and Parivartan: http://www.pria.org/cgi-bin/studyreport.htm?r_reportid=18 Stakeholder
Forum for Our Common Future (formerly UNED Forum) Stakeholder
Forum has gathered a multi-stakeholder International
Advisory Board (IAB), which comprises of some of the most important
bodies, associations, networks and organisations within the various stakeholder
groups. Stakeholder Forum therefore has the opportunity to work closely with
those groups and those who represent them at an international, and in some
cases, regional level. Successfully forming this IAB is an expression of the
trust that stakeholders have in Stakeholder Forum as a body that neutrally and
effectively facilitates a space that stakeholders can use to build trust and
relations, engage in dialogue with each other. Stakeholder
Forum's activities around the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) since 1993 have build a track
record of experience with working with all kinds of stakeholders, developing
mechanisms of stakeholder participation at CSD meetings, facilitating
stakeholder communication. Stakeholder Forum was closely involved in developing
the CSD Stakeholder Dialogue mechanism, and has been actively participating in
preparing and carrying out the CSD Dialogues since 1998. Stakeholder
Forum has also coordinated multi-stakeholder dialogues at other international
fora, notably the 8th
Informal Environment Ministers Meeting (Bergen, Norway, Sept 2000); and
the International Conference on
Freshwater (Bonn, Germany, Dec 2001). Stakeholder
Forum's recent work on multi-stakeholder
processes adds to the body of relevant experience (all material at
www.earthsummit2002.org/msp). A methodological framework and a step-by-step
guide for multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) was developed, in order to
contribute to the development of principles of stakeholder participation and
engagement. The draft report went through broad consultations and was discussed
at an international multi-stakeholder workshop in April 2001. The
report presents a number of building blocks for MSPs: analysing 20 examples at
international, national and local levels, clarifying the goals and various types
of MSPs; their role in the context of the ongoing debate on (global) governance;
their value and ideological basis; and relevant findings from the social
sciences. The step-by-step guide is a check-list of questions, which need to be addressed when designing,
carrying out and evaluating an MSP. The result of this work has been published
as a book with Earthscan, London, in January 2002: "Multi-Stakeholder
Processes for Governance and Sustainability. Beyond Deadlock and Conflict"
(by Minu Hemmati). Stakeholder
Forum's domestic activities in the UK further
add to the body of relevant expertise. Since 1994, UNED-UK, the domestic
programme of Stakeholder Forum, has facilitated multi-stakeholder round tables
on various issues that have been on the international agenda. Results of these
round tables have been fed into the UK Government, the EU and the UN. Since
2000, UNED-UK is working on the UK preparations for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, and has been commissioned by the UK Government to
organise such round tables on a number of issues identified as UK priorities
(see www.stakeholderforum.org). Stakeholder
Forum's international work programme has been focusing on the preparations
for the World Summit on Sustainable Development since 1999. The
international team has developed a main information hub for all stakeholders
(www.earthsummit2002.org website; Network 2002 newsletter; background briefing
papers; etc) and engaged in capacity building with stakeholders from around the
globe to enable them to make efficient use of and contributions to the Summit
process. It will continue to gather stakeholders around the preparatory meetings
to provide space for exchange, identifying common ground, and overcoming
differences, with the goal of making stakeholder participation as effective,
transparent and equitable as possible, and strengthen the intergovernmental
process. Relevant
publications & websites: Dodds,
F (ed) 2000 (2nd edition 2001). Earth Summit 2002. A New Deal.
London: Earthscan Dodds,
F (ed) 1997. The Way Forward. Beyond Agenda 21. London: Earthscan Enayati,
J 2001. Online Debates on Earth Summit 2002 on Sustainable Cities; Participation of Marginalized People; HIV / AIDS;
Corporate Responsibility. Report, www.lifeonline.org Hemmati,
M 2002. Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Governance and Sustainability. Beyond
Deadlock and Conflict. London: Earthscan (Jan 2002) Hemmati,
M & Schaefer, B (ed) 2001. Gender Perspectives for Earth Summit 2002:
Energy, Transport, Information for Decision-Making. Report from an International
Workshop held in Berlin, Germany, Jan 2001, hosted by the German Government, the
Heinrich Boell Foundation, and UNED Forum Hemmati,
M 2000. Access and Benefit-Sharing: Relevant International Agreements and Issues
for Dialogue Between Stakeholders. Background paper the Joint UNED Forum &
Novartis International Side Event CSD-8:
"Access and
Benefit-Sharing: Building Equitable Partnerships Between Local Communities and
International Corporations?" McHarry,
J 2001. UNED Forum Background Paper for LifeOnline: Promoting Involvement in the
Search for Sustainability - We are all Stakeholders Now. http://www.earthsummit2002.org/es/life/participation.pdf Morley,
D (ed) 2000. Access to Water and Energy. Report from the Multi-stakeholder
Dialogue at the 8th Informal Environment Ministers Meeting in Bergen, Norway,
2000 Osborn,
D & Bigg, T (eds) 1997. Earth Summit II. Outcome and Analysis. Edited by
Derek Osborn & Tom Bigg. London: Earthscan www.earthsummit2002.org:
main information hub on Earth Summit 2002 www.earthsummit2002.org/msp:
work on multi-stakeholder processes www.unedforum.org:
on domestic round tables and preparations for Earth Summit 2002 www.earthsummit2002.org/workshop:
Gender Perspectives on Earth Summit 2002 workshop, Jan 2001 www.earthsummit2002.org/wssd:
social development material & process for Copenhagen+5 www.unedforum.org/health/index.htm:
Healthy Planet Forum 1999; NGOs at the Pan-European Environment & Health
Conference, London 1999 The
Copenhagen Center - New Partnerships for Social Responsibility The
Copenhagen Centre's conference "Partnerships and social responsibility in
the new economy" in June 2001 aims at taking further the development and
dissemination of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and to encourage the
implementation of new social partnerships across national borders and across the
borders between private and public, market and society. The concern is to ensure
that CSR and new social partnerships will become part of everyday practice and
mainstream policies within the realm of the New Economy. website:
http://www.copenhagencentre.org/main The
Global Public Policy Project The
purpose of the Global Public Policy Project was to prepare a report that would
examine a range of global challenges and the potential contribution of global
public policy networks to address them. Since the publication of the final
report, the project's staff has presented its findings on multiple opportunities
in the United States as well as Europe. The present activities of the Global
Public Policy Project are concentrated in the research field as well as
providing a platform for interested people to exchange information and 'lessons
learned' about global public policy networks. website:
http://www.globalpublicpolicy.net Case
Studies on GPP Networks at http://www.globalpublicpolicy.net/CaseStudyAuthors.htm Trade
Knowledge Network Research
Project: Trade and Sustainable Development Resources. Building on the ongoing
UNCTAD/UNDP country project on Trade and Environment in India, the proposed
project aims at reviewing and using experience in business partnerships and
multi-stakeholder approaches to support India's efforts in meeting certain
objectives in the context of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in a
cost-effective and developmental-benign way. website:
http://192.197.196.001/tkn/resources/research/undp-diff.htm United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Creation
of Multi-stakeholder Advisory Panels on Environmentally Sound and Economically
Viable Management of Secondary Lead in India and the Philippines: The project
focuses on two clusters of activities: ·
a preparatory,
analytical phase for creating the multi-stakeholder panels, which reviews lead
supply and demand in India and the Philippines and the effectiveness and
efficiency of trade restrictions and supportive measures to enhance sustainable
lead management; ·
a series of
meetings of a multi-stakeholder advisory panel in India and the Philippines
identifying the most suitable instruments and policy measures for encouraging
sustainable lead management, including sound lead recovery. website:
http://www.unctad.org/trade_env/leadpro.htm United
Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), established in 1972, works to encourage sustainable development through sound environmental practices everywhere. Its activities cover a wide range of issues, from atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, the promotion of environmental science and information, to an early warning and emergency response capacity to deal with environmental disasters and emergencies. UNEP’s present priorities include:
website:
http://www.unep.org Including
an article on the mutli-stakeholder
work on voluntary initiatives:
"UNEP In First Multi-stakeholder Workshop On Voluntary Initiatives"
(September 2000): Thirtyfive representatives of industry, governments, labour,
environmental groups and academic institutions met recently with senior officers
of UNEP to review the lessons learnt from voluntary initiatives and the steps
that need to be taken if they are to become environmentally effective and
publicly credible tools for sustainability. Experiences were shared on different
types of voluntary initiatives, including: Responsible Care programme of the
chemical industry; Experience of the Netherlands Government with negotiated
voluntary agreements; Partnership of the international financial industry with
UNEP; Sustainable Fisheries Initiative of the Marine Stewardship Council ;
Automotive Voluntary Initiative of the European Commission; and Sustainable
workplace initiatives of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
Participants
agreed that voluntary initiatives must not undermine the need for an effective
regulatory and legislative framework, and that key challenges in the future
include finding the right policy mix, ensuring that workers are involved, and
clarifying the role of non governmental organizations and other stakeholders.
"Workers are both producers and consumers and voluntary initiatives will
not contribute to sustainable development if workers are not involved in their
design, implementation and monitoring" emphasized Lucien Royer, Coordinator
of Health, Safety and Environment of the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU). "Our experience is that voluntary initiatives do not
go beyond business as usual if they do not involve societal actors other than
industry in setting the targets that we need to achieve," said Gulio Volpi,
World Wildlife Fund. The
1992 Earth Summit formally encouraged the development of voluntary initiatives
in Agenda 21 as an experimental policy tool to achieve sustainable development
objectives. Voluntary initiatives have since multiplied in use and diversity,
ranging from improving environmental practices in specific industry sectors such
as chemicals and finance, sustainable management of resources such as forests
and fisheries. But "there are diverse points of view as to the real
environmental effectiveness of voluntary initiatives, their relation to
regulations and other government policy tools, and the role of different
stakeholders in making voluntary initiatives an effective tool for sustainable
development" pointed out Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, Director, UNEP
Division of Technology, Industry and Economics. United
Nations Global Compact At
the World Economic Forum, Davos, on 31 January 1999, UN Secretary-General Kofi
A. Annan challenged world business leaders to "embrace and enact" the
Global Compact, both in their individual corporate practices and by supporting
appropriate public policies. These principles cover topics in human rights,
labour and environment.
You can find examples
of how companies are currently incorporating aspects of the nine principles into
their business practices. Compact
participants have announced a range of partnership projects with NGO's, UN
agencies, and other civil society groups. Project themes include HIV/AIDS, the
digital divide, education, community development, disaster response, health and
the environment. Companies involved include Aventis, Ericsson, Placer Dome,
Unilever, Globo, ABB, Aventis, Martha Tilaar, Eskom, Suez, and SAP. Cooperation
with GRI: The
Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative are voluntary initiatives
that complement each other. The Global Compact promotes responsible corporate
citizenship through learning and action on the basis of nine universal
principles. The Global Reporting Initiative promotes transparency and
accountability through reporting. The two initiatives have always supported each
other with the United Nations Environment Programme being a key partner in
both." http://www.unglobalcompact.org/un/gc/unweb.nsf/content/gcandgri.htm "Companies
participating in both initiatives have long stressed the understanding that the
GRI is a practical expression of the UN Secretary-General's Global Compact. This
understanding was reaffirmed at a recent meeting of the Global Compact, held in
London / Denham. Therefore, companies may wish to use their involvement in the
GRI as an example of their commitment to the Global Compact. This recognition
serves to confirm the complimentarity between the Global Compact and the Global
Reporting Initiative and will facilitate corporate engagement in both
initiatives." http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ Also
see UNED case
study
at www.earthsummit2002.org/msp/examples/ex-gc.htm And:Citizens
Compact on the United Nations and Corporations
at www.socialwatch.org/2000/eng/updates/globalcompact/citizenscompact.htm United
Nations Secretary General's Report on Partnerships A
UN Secretary General's Report on "Cooperation between the United Nations
and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector", which was
prepared for a UN General Assembly debate in November 2001. Jane
Nelson, who drafted the report, has considered a large number of sources and
inputs from governments, UN agencies, and stakeholders, and produced a very
useful resource indeed. The Global Compact website's comment: "While most
media coverage of the delayed debate of the General Assembly has focused on the
threat of international terrorism, the formal agenda has prompted member states
to consider other central issues not widely reported, such as the evolving scope
of UN partnerships with other international actors, particularly from the
private sector. In preparation for the General Assembly debate the Global
Compact office prepared an extensive report exploring the range of cooperation
between the UN, the international business community, and civil society. The
study was drafted by Jane Nelson, a public policy specialist with the Prince of
Wales International Business Leaders Forum. The report provides a comprehensive
survey of the UN's partnership activities, including the Global Compact. The
analysis discusses, among other issues, measures to enhance policy dialogue and
advocacy; the mobilization of private funds; information-sharing and learning;
engaging the private sector in developing countries; and partnerships to
facilitate private investment. The findings were shaped by consultations with 23
member states and 27 UN agencies." websites:
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/un/gc/unweb.nsf/content/GAPS.htm (DOC file);
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/56/a56323.pdf (PDF file) Results
of the respective General Assembly debate (GA Resoultion A/RES/56/76) will be
available at http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/r56plen.htm World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
Quarterly
newsletter is called Sustain http://www.wbcsd.ch/newscenter/sustain/
WBCSD case studies : This new on-line case study collection showcases some of the best business actions for sustainable development from all over the globe, illustrating how companies work independently or with various stakeholders to integrate the challenge of sustainable development into their business activity. WBCSD works in a number of areas: Innovation
& Technology Eco-Efficiency Managing
and Understanding Change Dialogue
& Partnership Providing
and Informing Customer Choice Corporate Social Responsibility Creating
Sustainable Livelihoods website: www.wbcsd.ch World
Health Organisation (WHO) Speech
by Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland (http://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/1999/english/19990616_london_3.html) Polio:
Polio Eradication Partners : Rotary International, Government of Canada (CIDA),
Government of Denmark (DANIDA), UK Government (DFID), and Kreditanstalt für
Wiederaufbau/KfW (Germany), UNICEF, WHO, and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. www.who.int/vaccines-polio Guineaworm (Dracunculiasis) : In
1993, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Programme on Health Mapping & GIS was created to
service the mapping and monitoring needs of the Dracunculiasis Eradication
Programme. In
May 1998, the 50th WHO Assembly urged all countries, governmental and non
governmental organizations to provide full political support and the necessary
resources to facilitate the completion of eradication of dracunculiasis as soon
as technically feasible. Activities should be integrated within the health
services delivery system at community level to complement the effectiveness of
eradication activities. The Assembly called for intensified implementation of
case containment, financial resource mobilization and special support for the
needs of Sudan. The
most powerful tools in monitoring eradication of dracunculiasis are
village-based case containment and surveillance. Community members were educated
regarding prevention and containment and are encouraged to filter drinking
water. Case-containment has been implemented in most endemic villages. www.who.int/emc/healthmap/hmapmapstart.html Heart
disease / Lung cancer:
Norway, Finland, Canada and Australia have dramatically reduced heart disease
and lung cancer over the past decade through food policy, tobacco control,
attention to transport and energy policy and public health training. Achieved
through complementary fiscal policy, regulation, legislation, health education,
and public info campaigns and responsive health services. Roll
Back Malaria is
an initiative to provide developing countries with a new treatment for drug
resistant malaria. The World Bank says: Roll Back Malaria is a global
partnership jointly founded by WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, and UNDP in 1998, aiming
to halve the malaria burden world-wide by 2010. Calls for joint action by
governments, private sector, industry, NGOs and local communities across health,
education, agriculture, water, and infrastructure sectors. The major threat is
to children and pregnant women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale
trials of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in different epidemiological
settings in Africa have shown that reductions in overall child mortality of
15-33% can be achieved. Procedure:
Focus on home as the first line of treatment; avoid development of vertical or
stand-alone programs; and expand capacity through partnerships. Local agents
provide community education, marketing campaigns and distribution of essential
commodities eg mosquito nets and insecticides. The public sector has the primary
responsibility for policy making, standard setting, quality control, targeted
subsidies and regulation. http://www.who.int/ctd/html//malaria.html European
Health and Environment Conference: Third
Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health for Europe – Action in
Partnership, London 1999. A multi-stakeholder event at European level, involving
11 working groups set up by WHO, run by WHO, with substantial NGO input and with
a parallel NGO Forum, supported by WHO and other UN agencies. The scope was
health and environment in its broadest sense; with the objective of furthering
debate on a range of issues and helping to develop various protocols/agreements,
eg Freshwater, and Transport and Health, and a Ministerial Declaration on
Environment and Health Priorities for Europe in 21st century.
website: www.unedforum.org/health/index.htm.
Also see UNED case
study at www.earthsummit2002.org/examples/ex-whoconf.htm World
Information Transfer (WIT) World
Information Transfer, Inc., (WIT) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental
organization in consultative status with the United Nations, promoting
environmental health and literacy. In 1987, inspired by the Chernobyl nuclear
tragedy, WIT was formed in recognition of the pressing need to provide accurate
actionable information about our deteriorating global environment and its effect
on human health to opinion leaders and concerned citizens around the world. WIT
exercises its mandate through: 1.
The publication of the World
Ecology Report, a quarterly digest of critical issues in health
and environment, published in five languages and distributed to opinion leaders
around the world, and for free in developing countries. 2.
The annual international conference on Health and the Environment: Global Partners for Global
Solutions held at United Nations headquarters in New York since
1992. The world's leading authorities in the field of environmental medicine
share their latest findings and discuss possible solutions with leaders in
governments, business, organizations, and the media. 3.
Development of Humanities Library CD-ROM projects
focusing on sustainable development and human health. 4.
Since 1995, WIT has been providing and promoting humanitarian relief to
areas devastated by environmental degradation. Supplies and equipment have been
sent to hospitals and orphanages in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout.
5.
Centers for Health & Environment providing centralized specific scientific
data pertaining to health and sustainability issues. The objective of the
Centers is to provide ongoing research, education and implementation of
corrective programs. The first center was opened in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1992 and
moved to Lviv, Ukraine, in 1996. The second opened in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1997. WIT
currently operates from headquarters in New York City with regional directors in
Australia, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Holland, India, Iraq,
Israel, Lebanon, Nigeria, Russia, Switzerland, USA, Ukraine.
WIT is on the Board of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations
in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations or CONGO. website:
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