ICEH Papers

MANAGING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: INSTITUTIONAL GAPS


Krishnan, Rekha, Suneel Pandey and Srijit Mukherjee “Managing Environmental Health: Institutional Gaps” in Martin J. Bunch, V. Madha Suresh and T. Vasantha Kumaran, eds., Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Environment and Health, Chennai, India, 15-17 December, 2003. Chennai: Department of Geography, University of Madras and Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University. Pages 233 – 242.

 

Abstract:

Traditionally, much of the effort in health management was focused on treating diseases and on preventive medicine. However, there is in more recent times, a renewed recognition of the need for an assessment of risks to health with a view to prevention of disease (WHO 2002).

In the context of managing human health through prevention, environmental health (EH) management assumes significance given that environmental factors account for nearly one-fifth of the disease burden in India and other developing countries (World Bank 2002). EH management is also central to poverty alleviation and sustainable development because:
§ EH management offers tremendous opportunities to proactively, and often through cost-effective means, tackle various elements of human health.

§ Due to the centrality of environmental resources in livelihoods, particularly in rural India, EH management can contribute to economic betterment and general well-being.

§ Environmental health concerns are an element of multi-dimensional poverty - with the poor being increasingly vulnerable not only due to exposure to multiple risks (such as indoor air pollution and ambient air pollution in the case of urban poor), but also due to inadequate access to healthcare facilities, malnutrition, isolation and lack of awareness.

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