Environmental Health (EH) addresses all external physical, chemical, and biological factors to the individual, and all related factors that affect behavior. However, it covers the assessment and control of environmental factors that can affect health. Environmental health aims to prevent disease and create health-promoting environments.

Global health has identified the link between health and our environment as important, from the water we drink and the air we breathe, to the food we grow and eat. As such, over three million children under the age of five die every year from environment-related causes, such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, contaminated water, and inadequate sanitation. The World Health Organization's programs and initiatives on water and sanitation, vector-borne diseases, indoor air pollution, chemical safety, transport, ultraviolet radiation, nutrition, occupational health, food safety, and accident prevention address critical issues for improving environmental health.

Program Objectives

• Develop technological platforms for alert, response, research, and education to support public policies.

Research Areas

Este programa divide-se em duas grandes áreas relacionadas: a Saúde Ambiental (SA) e a Saúde do Trabalhador (ST). Contudo, as prioridades de pesquisa para o período de vigência da Estratégia Científica incluem:

• National capacity for reporting, research, and laboratory diagnosis of poisonings;
• Assessment of the impact of climate change on health, including natural disasters;
• Structuring of disease surveillance platforms sensitive to environmental changes, including climate change.;
• Assessment of the impact of socioeconomic environmental transformations on health, including urbanization, agro-industrial plantations, and mining projects;
• Health status assessment of workers in mining extraction;
• Public servant health status assessment;
• Implementation of postgraduate curricula with a focus on health and environment themes.

Research Projects

• Health Sector Resilience to Climate Change;
• Climate Change Impact on Health Assessment – AIMICS;
• Impact Assessment of Cyclone IDAI on Hospitalization Patterns in Sofala Province;
• Informing and Assessing Health System Resilience to Climate Change;
• Public Servant Health Situation.

Partners

• Direcção Nacional de Saúde Pública (MISAU): Departamento de Saúde Ambiental, Programa Nacional de Controle da Malária, Departamento de Epidemiologia;
• Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INAM);
• Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) – Departamento de Física;
• Direcção Nacional do Ambiente (MITAM);
• Direcção Nacional de Gestão de Recursos Hídricos (MOPHRH);
• Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades (INGC);
• Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS);
• CRED – Universidade Católica de Louvain (Bélgica);
• Earth Institute – Universidade de Columbia (USA);
• ICAP Moçambique.