Quantifying environmental health impacts

WHO Photocontest 2007

The environmental burden of disease quantifies the amount of disease caused by environmental risks.

Disease burden can be expressed in deaths, incidence or in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). The latter measure combines the burden due to death and disability in a single index. Using such an index permits the comparison of the burden due to various environmental risk factors with other risk factors or diseases.

Additional information required for the rational development of policies by the health sector and activities of other sectors which directly manage or influence the determinants of health includes:

• the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions
• the availability of resources
• the type of policy environment

WHO's activities and products

WHO's Programme on Quantifying Environmental Health Impacts
More information

Safer water, better health
More information

Country profiles of environmental burden of disease
More information

Global burden of disease from solar ultraviolet radiation
Environmental Burden of Disease Series, No. 13
More information

Preventing disease through healthy environments: Towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease
More information

Director-General
Director-General and senior management

Governance of WHO
WHO Constitution, Executive Board and World Health Assembly

Media centre
News, events, fact sheets, multimedia and contacts

International travel and health
Publication on travel risks, precautions and vaccination requirements

World Health Report
Annual report on global public health and key statistics