Public health is defined by the World Health Organization as not merely the absence of disease, but the

state of physical, mental and social well-being. To achieve that state, community efforts have to be
made towards prevention of disease and prolonging life. This is done by maintaining and providing a
sanitary environment, controlling communicable and non-communicable diseases, educating the
community on health and health-related topics, organizing nursing and medical services for the early
diagnosis and prevention of disease and developing a social machinery to ensure an adequate standard
of living, by maintaining health and longevity, which are human birthrights to each and every individual.

Environmental health is a broad branch of public health that addresses and emphasizes on all human-
health related aspects of the environment that are detrimental in the improvement of health outcomes.
It is defined as the theory and practice of assessing, correcting, controlling and prevention of factors that
affect the quality of lives of people in the community. As such, environmental health is integrated within
the concept of public health to create and maintain environments that prevent disease and promote
good public health of the communities.

Environmental health is affected by a lot of factors that are naturally present in every environment and
are external to a person of physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial nature. It stresses on following
a preventative approach rather than an end-of-pipe approach which addresses a health problem after
its occurrence, to provide not only for the present communities, but to future generations as well