Risks from mercury for human health and the environment (2016)

Report of an awareness-raising and training workshop
Yerevan, Armenia 28–29 September 2016

Exposure to mercury and mercury compounds is harmful for human health, especially for foetuses and children at early stages of development. In 2013, the Minamata Convention on Mercury was adopted by the international community with the aim of preventing negative impacts on human health and the environment from mercury. It places certain obligations on Parties that require action, as applicable, by the health sector in coordination and cooperation with other competent sectors, including the identification of exposed population groups and assessment of the risk from exposure to mercury. A workshop was organized in September 2017 by the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia in the framework of the project Minamata Convention Initial Assessment of Armenia (carried out by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and funded by the Global Environment Facility) to raise awareness of the effects on health of mercury and its compounds, provide training for public health and other allied professionals in assessing the risks from mercury and discuss the next steps for the early implementation of the Convention.