Strengthening environmental health services

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Agenda 21 suggests the adoption of health impact and environmental impact assessment procedures.

The role of the private sector in implementing local environmental health (EH) projects is still largely undefined. There is an accelerating trend in a number of countries to widen the involvement of the private sector, in full or in part, in many areas of the economy. The health and environmental sectors are not immune from private involvement in, for example, service delivery, project implementation and supply of finance and resources. Recently, examples have been seen of private sector involvement adding creativity to methods used, introducing efficiencies not previously perceived and overcoming formerly insurmountable obstacles to improvements. Conversely, there are instances where a well constituted public sector-led service can offer comparable improvements in EH benefits and service delivery. Opportunities need to be taken when constructive involvement of the private sector in local EH project implementation can yield increased benefit to the local community. The key issue to address is the achievement of complementarity between the public, NGO, community and private sectors.