WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network. Business Plan

Transcription

1 WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Netwrk Business Plan Versin: 14 June 2013 Backgrund The prductin and use f chemicals cntinues t increase wrldwide and manufacturing and trade f finished prducts has becme mre glbalized; prductin has als shifted frm develped t less develped cuntries. Therefre, t prtect human health arund the wrld and cntribute t the imprvement f health in develping natins, it is imprtant t enhance effrts glbally and share expertise t assess and manage the risks assciated with expsure t these chemicals in the envirnment, fd, prducts and ccupatinal settings, as principled in the Strategic Apprach t Internatinal Chemicals Management (SAICM). Further highlighting the need fr rganizatins t wrk mre clsely tgether t mutually and maximally benefit frm activities f risk assessment and research prgrams are the increasing pressures n regulatry agencies t accelerate the rate f assessment f chemicals and the rapidly expanding nature and quantity f data available t supprt chemical risk assessment. The health sectr pririties fr SAICM include actins t imprve ability t access, interpret and apply scientific knwledge, filling gaps in scientific knwledge, develpment f glballyharmnized methds fr chemical risk assessment and better methds t determine impacts f chemicals n human health. In accrdance with these pririties, WHO cnvened tw meetings n Glbal Cllabratin in Chemical Risk Assessment, the first held in Geneva in March 2010 and the secnd in Bnn in March These meetings endrsed the establishment f a WHO netwrk t strengthen glbal cllabratin in chemical risk assessment. Gal and Objectives The WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Netwrk ( the Netwrk ) is an initiative whse verall gal is t imprve chemical risk assessment glbally thrugh fstering and facilitating sustainable interactin between institutins n chemical risk assessment issues and activities. The specific bjectives f the Netwrk are t: a) Prvide a frum fr scientific and technical exchange; b) Facilitate and cntribute t capacity building; c) Prmte best practices and the harmnizatin f methdlgies; d) Assist in the identificatin f research needs and prmte the applicatin f new science in risk assessment practice; Page 1 f 5

2 e) Assist in the identificatin f emerging risks t human health frm chemicals; f) Share infrmatin abut wrk prgrammes t avid duplicatin f effrt; g) Upn request, assist WHO in the develpment f training and ther materials in supprt f the abve. The Netwrk is als an imprtant means f cntributing t implementatin f the bjectives utlined in SAICM. Operatinal Aspects Terms f Reference have been established t gvern the wrk f the Netwrk. As utlined in greater detail in the Terms f Reference, the Netwrk is a WHO administered cllabrative initiative cmprised f institutins with expertise in human health risk assessment, including gvernment and public health institutins, intergvernmental rganizatins, prfessinal scieties, WHO Cllabrating Centres, nn-gvernmental rganizatins in fficial relatins with WHO, and thers. Cntributins t the Netwrk may be in the frm f financial supprt, in-kind input t Netwrk prjects, technical expertise r the sharing f infrmatin. The Netwrk aims t cmplement and crdinate with ther relevant internatinal cllabrative risk assessment initiatives. Netwrk Participants will be invited t meet face-t-face apprximately every tw years t share experiences, evaluate prgress and plan future activities, using ther means f cmmunicatin between meetings t maintain cntact and sharing f infrmatin. Scpe, Nature and Selectin f Netwrk Activities The Netwrk is glbal in scpe, encmpassing all WHO Regins. It is intended t include participants frm cuntries f all ecnmic status, frm least develped t middle and upper incme cuntries. While the Netwrk is glbal in nature, sme activities undertaken as cntributins t the Netwrk may be mre reginal in fcus, althugh the resulting benefits culd be far-reaching. The Netwrk addresses issues related t the assessment f risks t human health assciated with expsure t chemicals. This includes expsures t chemicals in envirnmental media (air, water, sil) and fd, thrugh use f cnsumer prducts and in ccupatinal settings. The wrk f the Netwrk initially fcuses principally n activities related t the thematic areas recmmended by the March 2010 Meeting in Geneva and further supprted by the March 2012 Meeting in Bnn; i.e., capacity building/training; chemical risk assessments/sharing knwledge; risk assessment methdlgy; and research, and encmpasses relevant WHO activities already underway prir t the establishment f the Netwrk. The Netwrk is prject riented. Deliverables r prducts f prjects culd be in frm f a reprt, guidance dcumentatin, training sessins r materials, tls, databases, etc. Prpsed prjects are evaluated and priritized based n the fllwing aspects: Significant relevance f the prject tpic t Netwrk themes and bjectives The activity adds value t risk assessment glbally Page 2 f 5

3 Strng r multiple linkages t ther nging r recently cmpleted prjects High likelihd f prject cmpletin, including availability f adequate resurces Internatinal r multi-cuntry range f applicatin f prject utcme r prduct Benefit t the prject and Netwrk participants f implementatin thrugh the WHO Netwrk versus anther initiative. Netwrk Pririties The pririties identified fr relate principally t the initial implementatin phase f the Netwrk, including engagement f participants in several new and nging shrt-term activities. Initial Implementatin Phase f the Netwrk: Operatinalize the Netwrk ( ) - Includes acquiring resurces and lgistics planning Develp cmmunicatin materials and appraches (2012-early 2013) - Includes three main aspects: internal cmmunicatins within the Netwrk, external cmmunicatins abut the Netwrk (i.e., prmting the netwrk via WHO/IPCS hme page, newsletter, use f champins, launch plan, etc.) and infrmatin sharing mechanisms (databases, etc.). Cnvene the 1 st Netwrk meeting (2014, pending availability f resurces) - This meeting will, amng ther things, prvide input fr Netwrk pririties pst Thematic Area Activities: Initiate several new shrt-term prjects and cnslidate nging related WHO risk assessment activities int the Netwrk aligned in the areas f: capacity building/training - including the develpment f an n-line database f chemical risk assessment training curses, tailring training t specific audiences, prmtin f WHO materials thrugh wrkshps, prfessinal sciety meetings and cntinuing educatin curses. chemical risk assessments/sharing knwledge - including prductin f WHO chemical risk assessment dcuments, sharing f wrk/prject plans, establishing a mechanism fr Netwrk participants t call fr experts (e.g., peer review) risk assessment methdlgy, including - mapping f WHO and select ther internatinal methdlgies and tls - increasing harmnizatin and implementatin f methdlgies - prductin f WHO methdlgies and tls, including: Update f the WHO Mde f Actin Framewrk (publicatin 2013) WHO guidance n identifying early life stages fr characterizing chemical expsures ( publicatin 2013) WHO Guidance n characterizing uncertainties and variability in hazard assessment (peer review wrkshp Nvember 2013, publicatin 2014). research - identificatin and cmmunicatin f research pririties, including: Page 3 f 5

4 Publicatin f article reviewing recmmendatins fr research in past WHO chemical risk assessment publicatins Mapping f nging activities related t txicity testing in the 21 st century and reginal research relevant t risk assessment Resurcing The success and viability f the Netwrk is dependent upn adequate resurcing, bth financial and in-kind, during the initial start-up perid and als ver the lng term t ensure that it meets the bjectives utlined abve and cntinues t prvide maximum value t the human health chemical risk assessment cmmunity. The envisined needs (financial and in-kind) fr the initial implementatin phase f netwrk and fr lng term supprt include: Netwrk Operatin: Secretariat fr Netwrk, including running f the Netwrk itself plus a number f WHO-led activities (maintained at level f activity): 2.5 FTE (Apprx. 700,000 USD per annum), with up t 1.0 FTE in kind. Netwrk meeting csts: Apprximate cst, 80, ,000 USD depending n the number f participants requiring travel supprt (Next meeting prpsed t be held in 2014). Prject Related Csts: Activity csts fr Netwrk, including netwrk brchure, prmtin, etc. Apprximate estimate 20,000 USD p.a. Activity csts fr WHO led prjects invlving an expert meeting r wrkshp, publicatin csts, prmtin csts: Apprximate average cst p.a. per prject: 60,000-80,000 USD, depending n the scpe f meeting. Activity csts fr prjects led by thers, including preparatin f drafts, cnsultatin and finalizatin f prducts as cntributins t the Netwrk (varies with activity). The WHO prgramme respnsible fr the Netwrk relies n vluntary cntributins fr the majrity f staff csts, and all activity csts. Ptential surces f financial and in-kind cntributins t WHO include: gvernments and gvernmental institutins; fundatins meeting WHO dnr requirements; NGOs in fficial relatins with WHO; WHO Cllabrating Centres. The resurce needs f Netwrk participants will depend upn their existing funding arrangements and the type f activity implemented. Ptential surces f funding and in-kind cntributins fr such activities include: Natinal and supra-reginal authrities Public health institutins Scientific/prfessinal scieties Nn-gvernmental rganizatins Cst recvery training Page 4 f 5

5 Expected Outcmes and Measures f Success The expected utcmes f successful implementatin f the Netwrk will be enhanced cllabratin between participants n issues related t human health risk assessment leading t increased capacity t cnduct high quality risk assessments which incrprate harmnized methdlgy and emerging science as well as efficient and timely knwledge transfer. The Netwrk will be evaluated peridically i t ensure cntinued success and sustainability. Ptential indictrs, that will be refined prir t the first evaluatin cycle, include: Cllabratin n risk assessment issues Cllabratively develped prducts Harmnizatin f risk assessment methdlgies Implementatin f methdlgy in natinal and internatinal risk assessment prgrams New methdlgies and tls incrprating emerging data and technlgies Creatin f infrmatin sharing mechanisms Regular pen cmmunicatin between participants High quality training materials and curses Mechanisms t strengthen the interface between risk assessment and research Establishment and maintenance f sustainable Netwrk administratin Internatinal awareness f the Netwrk Participant satisfactin Extensive and grwing list f participants (in number and gegraphical and ecnmical distributin) Sufficient and sustainable financial resurcing plan Cperatin with internatinal rganizatins at glbal and reginal levels Further Infrmatin: Web site: ipcsmail@wh.int Department f Public Health and Envirnment Wrld Health Organizatin 20 Avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland i The timing f peridic evaluatin will take int accunt the timing f meetings f the Netwrk as well as future wrk planning cycles. Page 5 f 5