In August 2008, more than 300 participants from 52 African countries gathered in Libreville, Gabon to attend the first Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa (IMCHE).

The main outcome of that historic meeting was the adoption of the Libreville Declaration, which recognised that human health is intimately linked to the state of the environment. Participating nations committed themselves to 11 priority actions for addressing the continent’s top health and environmental challenges. This commitment was reaffirmed during their second joint meeting in Angola in 2010 through the Luanda Commitment on Health and Environment.

These agreements have paved the way towards a more integrated approach to policy-making in the health and environment sectors.

The upcoming third IMCHE conference in Libreville will build on the progress of its predecessors in addressing the interlinkages between health and environment as a means of achieving sustainable development and the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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