The mission of the Department of Health includes “to improve the quality of care of all levels of the health system, especially preventive and promotive health, and to improve the overall efficiency of the health care delivery system.”

Great overlaps exist between preventive health and a healthy environment. The Department of Health must, together with DEAT, develop UEM policies and strategies and ensure their implementation in local government. The UEMP aims to enhance the department's institutional capacity to support the integrated planning and administration of environmental health, air quality and waste management on local level.

The recently passed National Health Act will lead to changes in the structures for the provision of health services (including environmental health) in the country. Many new environmental health functions will be transferred to the municipalities and it is assumed that waste management functions will be transferred in the same manner. The roles of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) and other officials tasked with the implementation of the Health Act on municipal level must be defined in the years to come.

The Programme supports the Department of Health in taking national lead in this process:

• Currently (2008) the department is wrapping up a national functional analysis. This will provide a framework for role distribution and strategies for a country wide systematic approach to environmental health. In the five year period the programme will subsequently support the implementation of these recommendations.
• As Programme activities the Department is also rolling out guidelines for Indoor Air quality, a health a hygiene education strategy, as well as environmental health Impacts Assessments and more.