The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) is a collaborative body tasked with coordinating resources and activities on chemicals, wastes and toxic pollution in low- and middle-income countries. The vision of GAHP is a world safe from toxic pollution. Its mission is to help low- and middle-income countries with regards to chemicals and wastes, clean up legacy toxic hotspots, prevent re-contamination and guard against future pollution.
Membership:Based on current development priorities and agendas, key stakeholders who have taken concrete action, shown leadership and/or are interested in resolving the issues of toxic pollution are invited to participate in the GAHP. The roles and responsibilities of GAHP members will vary from organization to organization, depending on the mandate and modus operandi of each. There are no financial requirements to join GAHP.
Broadly, it is expected that GAHP members will contribute one or more of the following:- Sharing knowledge and experience that may be pertinent to GAHP objectives;
- Promoting the issue of legacy pollution at appropriate occasions and venues (conferences, meetings, seminars);
- Providing technical assistance, as may be needed, in activities supported by GAHP;
- Exploring options for mobilizing financial assistance for clean-up projects in low-income countries and for dealing with emergencies;
- Actively participate in the GAHP annual meeting, the Executive Committee and/or Technical Advisory Group.
- the Asian Development Bank (ADB) www.adb.org
- the Blacksmith Institute (GAHP Secretariat) www.blacksmithinstitute.org
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH www.giz.de/en/
- European Commission www.ec.europa.eu
- Indonesian environmental NGO KPBB http://www.kpbb.org/
- Ministry of Environment, Government of Indonesia http://www.menlh.go.id/
- Ministry of Environment, Mexico (SEMARNAT) http://www.semarnat.gob.mx
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Philippines (DENR) http://www.denr.gov.ph/
- Ministry of Environment, Governments of Senegal http://www.environnement.gouv.sn/
- United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) www.unep.org
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) www.unido.org
- the World Bank (WB) www.worldbank.org
- Fundación Chile www.fundacionchile.cl
- Ministry of Environment of Perú (MINAM) http://www.minam.gob.pe/
The GAHP is made up an Executive Committee, a Secretariat and a Technical Advisory Group.
The Executive Committee, comprised of seven representatives, governs the GAHP and is responsible for setting strategy and activities. Current members include one representative from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Blacksmith Institute, GIZ, European Commission, UNIDO, and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines. The World Bank will chair the Executive Committee for the first three years. The Executive Committee meets quarterly via teleconference.
The Technical Advisory Group will provide guidance and expertise to the policies and operations of the GAHP, specifically for technical components.
GAHP activities are implemented by the Secretariat, currently hosted by Blacksmith Institute.