Human activities are changing the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and are contributing to climate change. Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health and changes the way we must look at protecting vulnerable populations. Climate variability and change cause death and disease through natural disasters, such as heat waves, floods, and droughts. In addition, many important diseases are highly sensitive to changing temperatures and precipitation. These include common vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue; as well as other major killers such as malnutrition and diarrhoea. Climate change already contributes to the global burden of disease, and this contribution is expected to grow in the future. Integrated efforts by all relevant stakeholders should be undertaken to address this emerging issue that influences environmental health.

To address the major environmental health problems and needs for action, many countries in the world have decided to prepare and implement National Environmental Health Action Plan (NEHAP). NEHAP presents strategies on how to improve environmental health within the country and defines the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders.

Experiences in Europe prove to be good examples in NEHAP preparation. At Helsinki Conference in 1994, all Member States of WHO European Region have decided to develop National Environmental Health Action Plans (NEHAPs) reflecting country-specific problems and needs. While developing NEHAPs it is necessary to collaborate closely with all relevant stakeholders involved in environmental health.In this region, the First Ministerial Regional Forum on Environment and Health in South East and East Asian Countries held in Bangkok in August 2007 agreed that member countries should prepare and regularly update NEHAP. The Second Ministerial Meeting of the Regional Forum on Environment and Health in Southeast and East Asian countries on 15 July 2010, in Jeju, Republic of Korea recognized the need to achieve the goal by ensuring clean air, safe and adequate water, environmentally sound treatment and safe disposal of waste, safe management of chemical substances, adequate response and adaptation to climate change, efficient and effective actions in environmental health emergencies and assessment of health impacts of these and other environmental hazards.

In the Third Ministerial Regional Forum on Environment and Health in South East and East Asian Countries held in Kuala Lumpur in September 2013, all member countries agreed to the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Environment and Health.

Environmental health issues are complex and cut across sectors and agencies, requiring coordination and cooperation among them. Government agencies on their own have developed and implemented environmental health-related sectors and programs, which if not properly done will have an impact on human health. Examples of those sectors are water supply, drainage and irrigation, sewerage, transportation, food production, solid waste management and hazardous waste management.

Improving environmental health in Malaysia requires all stakeholders and affected groups to recognise their common aspirations, develop common goals and work to strengthen their communication to forge partnerships on common actions. This national framework on environmental health will provide the cornerstone of the government’s approach towards sustainable development, socio-economic development, protection of the environment, and promotion and protection of human health.