Environmental health is a movement or effort designed to overcome the adverse effects of natural and man-made environmental factors on human health, which is defined by the World Health Organization as “a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” These factors include any influences—biological, physical, chemical, physiological, or social—that disrupt the delicate ecological balance necessary for human health, with either short- or long-term consequences.

Environmental health risks may be either traditional or modern. Importantly, these dangers have direct implications for, and are exacerbated by, poverty. Traditional health risks are those caused by inadequate sanitation or unclean living conditions, a shortage of potable water, insufficient or nonexistent waste disposal mechanisms, indoor air pollution, and vector-borne diseases. Modern ...