The Makerere University School of Public Health in conjunction with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health institute held a health impact assessment (HIA) short training course between 14 and 16 February 2023 in Kampala, Uganda. Uganda is the first spillover country outside the four project countries.
Understanding, assessing and managing community health and safety risks and impacts on areas with large infrastructure projects poses unique challenges for decision makers. Large projects as mining and constructions of large buildings, roads, bridges, water dams and rail roads can add to the health care demand and or create additional risks that need effective mitigation. Such projects may induce adverse community health impact or cause an influx of workers, and informal markets that increase the health care demand or at worst encourage transmission of infectious diseases while Health Impact Assessment is a useful tool for assessing how planned projects affect the health of given populations.
During the short course 24 participants familiarized themselves with the concept of HIA as an approach to systematically manage and promote community health and safety in project-affected communities. The theory was interactively discussed in the context of case studies from Uganda and surrounding countries like Tanzania.
Details about the training can be found in the report here.
