Colombia: Health and Pollution Action Plan

The Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) is a pollution analysis and prioritization process designed to assist governments of low- and middle-income countries to develop and implement solutions to priority pollution challenges. The goal of each HPAP is to establish pollution as a priority for action within national agencies and development plans, and to define and advance interventions to reduce pollution exposures and related illnesses

Pure Earth has initiated a Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) with the government of Colombia. The team hosted meeting in June 2018 with government agencies on  prioritizing issues in health and pollution.  The HPAP program was officially validated in December 2018 and presented to the full National Commission on Environmental Health in June 2019, where all participating government entities were present.

The final report included four project plans to address the following priorities: air quality (PM 2.5), pesticide residues in food, health risks from endocrine disruptors, and a national contaminated sites identification and screening program–an expansion and national management of the existing TSIP (Toxic Sites Identification Program) effort.

Pure Earth will provide continued support for implementation of recommended policies and programs, and for proposal drafting after the reports are validated.

Watch video (English subtitles are available – click on the CC button at the bottom of the video): In this video, Lizeth Olaya, health and pollution consultant at UNIDO Colombia, speaks about the results and the success of the Health and Pollution Action Plan in Colombia.  HPAP in Colombia is a joint project of UNIDO Colombia, Pure Earth, USAID, GAHP and European Union in Colombia.