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Environmental Health

How does the quality of the environment develop in urban areas, how does it affect the health of the population? This is a question of great interest to policy makers, because they must be able to recognize emerging risks in time, must be able to monitor the emergence of possible health risks and assess the outcome of the remedial measures taken.

In this respect, so-called environmental health indicators (Environmental Health Indicators, EHIs) allow to summarize environmental health burdens to ultimately make them accessible to the different users.
Environmental health means improving our health by improving our environment. That is improving sanitation and hygiene to help control the spread of diseases from people, animals, food, milk and water, preventing the air, food and water from becoming polluted, and preventing human exposure to pollutants.
Furthermore, improving access to resources and places where we live, learn, work and play that help us thrive.
In the environmental health part of the planned project, typical environmental health–related factors will be determined for the model city of Cape Town (South Africa).

EHIs from a chosen city or country describe the state of the environment and health, and report both positive and negative trends. Thus, the indicators provide a quick and up-to-the-minute overview of the environmental health situation in the observed region).
Development of these environmental health indicators can in the long term contribute to the design of effective intervention strategies for health-related environmental protection in the selected metropolitan areas.
Aim of this pilot project is to identify possible health problems in different city districts of Cape Town by surveying environmental health indicators (EHIs).

 

Prof. Dr. med. Volker Mersch-Sundermann

Prof. Dr. Volker Mersch-Sundermann       
Medical Director
Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Hygiene                     
Breisacher Strasse 115b
D-79106 Freiburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)761 270-82050
Mail: volker.mersch-sundermann@uniklinik-freiburg.de

 

 

Dr. rer. nat. Richard Gminski PhD
 

Dr. rer. nat. Richard Gminski PhD
Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Hygiene
Breisacher Strasse 115b
D-79106 Freiburg, Germany
Phone:+49 (0)761 270-82160
Fax:   +49 (0)761 270-82130
Mail: richard.gminski@uniklinik-freiburg.de

 

 

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