December 1, 2024
Webinar: Launch of AirQ+ Spanish version

Join the WHO Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit for the webinar “Launch of AirQ+ Spanish version: tool to evaluate the health impacts of air pollution” to be held on 15 February 2024 at 16:00-17:00 h (CET).

Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to health, being associated with various cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer. The morbidity and mortality linked to these diseases could be reduced by decreasing air pollution levels worldwide. However, in 2019, 99% of the world’s population lived in places where the WHO Air Quality Guidelines were not met.

Addressing this challenge effectively, in conjunction with responding to climate change and the active participation of healthcare professionals, represents a crucial opportunity to drive significant improvements in public health and advance the Sustainable Development Agenda.

For this purpose, it is essential to assess the health impacts of air pollution to generate evidence that facilitates decision-making, policy development, and the implementation of interventions for health protection and emission reduction. The World Health Organization developed AirQ+ as a software designed to conduct such assessments, providing a comprehensive approach in the fight against air pollution and its adverse effects on public health. This tool is now also available in Spanish.

Objective of the webinar:

  • Introduce the new Spanish version of AirQ+, a valuable, publicly accessible, and rigorous tool for assessing the health impacts of air pollution.

This webinar session will be recorded. 

*The webinar will be held in Spanish.*

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Agenda

Chair
Cristina Vert, Technical consultant, Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit, WHO

Opening remarks
Maria Neira, Director Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO

What does the Spanish version of AirQ+ include?
Karla Cervantes-Martínez, Technical consultant, Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit, WHO

Overview of health impact assessment and access for downloading the tool and translated manuals.

Detailed tour of AirQ+ in Spanish
Pierpaolo Mudu, Technical Officer, Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit, WHO
Tour through the tool to understand its components and general functioning.

Relevance of the Spanish-translated version of AirQ+ for Latin America and the Caribbean
Juan José Castillo, Regional Advisor, Air Quality and Health, PAHO
Stephanie Montero, Clean Air Institute 
Overview of the strengthening of regional capacities for the use of the Spanish version of AirQ+ in air quality management processes, and experiences of the Regional Expert Group. 

More than a decade of experiences using AirQ+ in Mexico
Horacio Riojas-Rodríguez, Director de Salud Ambietal, INPS-México

Questions & answers (Q&A) and closing remarks
Cristina Vert, Technical consultant, Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit, WHO 

Confirmed Speakers

Maria Neira, Director Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO
Dr. Maria Neira is since 2005, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO). Prior to WHO, she was Vice Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs in Spain, President of the Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency and she obtained extensive field experience in Africa as a Public Health Adviser.  

 Portrait of Dr Maria Neira.

Karla Cervantes-Martinez, Technical consultant, WHO 
Dr Karla Cervantes-Martinez is a technical consultant at the WHO Environment, Climate Change and Health Department in Geneva, where she primarily leads estimates of SDG 3.9.1 Mortality rate attributed to air pollution. She also supports activities related the global air quality database; as well as the generation of training materials and technical advice on air pollution epidemiology. Prior to joining the WHO, she had scientific training on Public Health and Environmental Health, focused on epidemiological cohort studies for the evaluation of chronic health effects and air pollution exposure models.

portrait cervantes

Pierpaolo Mudu, Technical officer, WHO
Dr Pierpaolo Mudu is a technical officer working for WHO-EURO Environment and Health Center in Bonn, Germany. He also collaborates with the WHO Headquarters in Geneva. His most recent works include the coordination of AirQ+, the software that calculates the impacts of air pollution on health, several impact assessments of environmental policy interventions in various countries and cities, and the development of the case studies both inside and outside Europe.

Juan José Castillo, Regional Air Quality Advisor, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 
Mtro Juan José Castillo is a Regional Air Quality Advisor at the Pan American Health Organization. He works delivering technical cooperation to health officers in the Americas and the Caribbean to build capacities towards addressing the air pollution burden of disease. Juan has +14 years’ experience in the environmental public health field. He has worked as an Executive Director in international nonprofit organizations, faculty and researcher, and as public officer in transport, environment and health. He has working experience in the private sector.  Juan leads the development of the AirQ+ Regional Expert Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, a working group with over 100 experts from more than 15 countries fostering the use of AirQ+ to support decision-making processes in the region. Juan studied Environmental Engineering and holds a master’s degree in environmental management.

portrait castillo

Stephanie Montero, Clean Air Institute
Dr. Stephanie Montero is a medical surgeon, Master in Global Health and Development from University College London in the United Kingdom, and Master in Local Development and Multilateral Cooperation from the University Pablo de Olavide in Seville, Spain. Since September 2022, Dr. Montero has been a part of the Clean Air Institute team as an expert in air quality and health. From 2017 to 2022, she served as the Project Coordinator for Air Quality and Health at the General Directorate of Air Quality of the Ministry of the Environment of Mexico City. From 2015 to 2018, she worked as the Director of Environmental Health at the Ministry of Sustainable Development of the State of Morelos.

portrait montero

Horacio Riojas-Rodríguez, Director de Salud Ambietal, INPS-México
Dr Horacio Riojas-Rodriguez has been the Director of Environmental Health at the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico for 20 years, which is a collaborating center of the Pan American Health Organization / WHO. In the academic field, he is a recognized researcher in Medical Sciences, leader of the research line on Health and Environment at INSP-Mexico. He has more than 100 scientific publications in indexed journals and is a professor of master’s and doctorate courses at the School of Public Health of Mexico.

portrait riojas

Cristina Vert, Technical consultant, WHO
Dr Cristina Vert is a technical consultant at the WHO Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health in Geneva. She collaborates in the Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit, as well as the Policies and Interventions for Health and Environment Unit. She has recently led the coordination and development of the Directory of resources for planning healthy environments, together with UN-Habitat. She also provides support to the WHO project to expand actions on environment, climate change and health in countries. Her training covers environmental sciences, public health and environmental epidemiology.

portrait vert

*The webinar will be held in Spanish.*

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

About the webinar series

This event is part of the WHO Webinar Series – Clean air and energy for health: from evidence to solutions. 

The series gives a 360° view on current state of science, tools, interventions and the implementation of policies and programmes for clean air and better health. This series will also showcase solutions that can help prevent or mitigate air pollution health, economic and environmental costs. Bringing together experts, leaders, policymakers, civil society champions, innovators from a multi-sectorial perspective, it will also serve as a platform for fostering dialogue, sharing knowledge, and ultimately shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for all.

 

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