In 1997, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established the Office of Children's Health Protection (OCHP) to implement their commitment to protect children from environmental health hazards. OCHP's mission is to make the protection of children's health a fundamental goal of public health and environmental protection in the United States. This is enabling multi-agency cooperation within the federal government and in collaboration with the NGO community and has resulted in varied efforts, such as:

• The Food and Quality Protection Act, passed unanimously by Congress to protect children from microbial contamination;
  
• The Asthma Strategy, a multiple agency effort to address asthma and the environment;
  
• The Lead Strategy, also a multiple agency effort to address the problem of children with higher than advisable blood lead levels;
  
• Outreach and education efforts;
  
• Research centres and the research agenda devoted to children’s environmental health issues; and
  
• Paediatric environmental health specialty units

Source: The United States Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/children

| Return to text |