Policy statement on disaster risk reduction and environmental health

This policy statement highlights the essential role of environmental health in Disaster Risk Reduction. It provides an actionable framework to strengthen the engagement of the environmental health workforce in DRR at global, national, regional, and local levels.

It calls upon our member organizations, governments, academia, and communities to act decisively through recommendations:

1. Integrate DRR into Environmental Health Education Embed DRR principles and competencies into all accredited environmental and public health education and training programs globally.
2. Mobilize IFEH Member Organizations IFEH members are encouraged to formally adopt this policy, present it to national Ministers of Health, Environment, and DRR, and collaborate to embed environmental health roles within national DRR strategies.
3. Strengthen National and Regional DRR Plans Establish or update DRR policies that explicitly involve environmental health professionals at all levels of governance.
4. Enhance Workforce Capacity Develop and implement comprehensive training for the environmental and wider public health workforce, emphasizing risk assessment, emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and collaborative practice.
5. Advance Research and Innovation Foster partnerships between environmental health professionals and the broader scientific community to support interdisciplinary research and innovation in DRR.
6. Mainstream Environmental Health in Disaster Management Ensure that environmental health is integrated into all phases of disaster management-from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery-through coordinated planning and service delivery. 7.
7. Establish Monitoring and Evaluation Encourage national authorities and IFEH members to develop indicators for tracking DRR integration within environmental health strategies, education, and workforce readiness.