The Academy of Science of South Africa, the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina organise a joint symposium on Environment and Health from 1st to 3rd June 2015 in Pretoria, South Africa. The symposium will focus on the fields of air pollution, water pollution, metals exposure and solar ultraviolet radiation. It will analyse key environmental challenges and their implications for human health in Sub-Saharan Africa and Germany in order to identify future research needs and to assess possible solutions to current environmental health issues and how these can be mainstreamed into science, society and policymaking.