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Development of methods and tools for health impact assessment (HIA)

Commonly agreed tools for carrying out HIAs are not yet available, although legislation and legally binding agreements at the international level, such as those of the European Union and the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, make provisions for HIA in policy-making. WHO/Europe works to fill this gap by developing HIA methodologies that provide tools for use by national or local authorities or institutions. WHO/Europe is a partner or leader in many international projects; in most cases, the methodologies developed are used for test cases and result in HIAs.

WHO/Europe assesses exposure, risk and health effects from environmental hazards, and builds capacity at both the local/national and subregional/regional levels. Integrated HIAs focus on the health effects of investment and development policies and strategies, taking account of environmental, economic and social effects.