Healthy Environments for Children Alliance (HECA)

HECA'S DRAFT MISSION STATEMENT: A world-wide alliance to intensify global action on environmental risks to children's health that arise from the settings where they live, learn, play and sometimes work, by providing knowledge, increasing political will, mobilizing resources, and catalysing intense and urgent action.



The aim of HECA is to build a global alliance to tackle key environment and poverty-related risks to children's health that are responsible for the loss of millions of healthy years of life each year. The Alliance will focus on, and catalyse action within the environments where children spend their time (i.e., the home, the school, and the community). Particular attention will be given to improving the home environment - traditionally neglected - but where children spend a major part of their young lives, and where the most significant health threats converge. In each setting, the alliance will focus on health risks associated with lack of access to clean water, to sanitation and to clean indoor air and outdoor air. It will also act to reduce risks associated with disease vectors, hazardous chemicals, and non-intentional injuries. Addressing the multiple risks in each setting will necessitate taking a holistic, integrated approach, as health risks are complex, and often interconnected. This approach also provides a framework to highlight the links between issues, and to facilitate action, in an integrated fashion, on the range of health risks in a given setting.



The Alliance will catalyze action that is both participatory and effective, stimulating a world-wide movement. It will concentrate initially on areas where it can add the most value - broadening in scope as it develops.



The Alliances core functions include:

* Ensuring advocacy and awareness raising;

* Providing knowledge, information exchange and expertise for decision-making;

* Promoting effective policies and action, at all levels, in all sectors;

* Supporting countries and communities in creating and maintaining healthy environments for children;

* Monitoring and evaluating progress.