The health impact assessment of development projects

Abstract

Whilst the study of environmental impacts of projects has become routine in many LDCs, health impacts often receive little attention. The primary focus of the book is the rural sector and the rural poor. It also follows the rural poor into new urban environments and draws attention to the health hazards faced in poorly regulated industries and settlements. It connects reviews and procedures and provides a catalogue of health and development linkages. The first two chapters provide an introduction and a rationale for appraising health impact, and lays out some cross-cutting issues: labout mobility, resettlement, changes in land use and the construction phase of projects. The following chapters look at sectors and their risks for communicable and non-communicable diseases, malnutrition and injury. The sectors examined are: transport and communication, mining, energy, agriculture, irrigation, fisheries, forestry, livestock, public services, and manufacture and trade. The final chapter provides the material for a problem-based learning exercise in rapid health impact assessment. -M.Amos