Health effects of the Chernobyl accident and special health care programmes

Overview

The 2006 WHO report Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accidents and Special Health Care Programmes was developed as a result of the UN inter-agency initiative “Chernobyl Forum” implemented in 2003-2005 with participation of the European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency, UN Development Programme, World Bank and the governments of the three most affected countries – Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation.

The Forum delivered a critical assessment of Chernobyl impact on the environment, human health, and the society.  WHO convened series of expert consultations reviewing and summarizing the findings of 20 years of research on health impact of the accident. This work resulted in a bench mark report that provided evidence-based health policy recommendations to the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The report was finalized and published in English in 2005 and in Russian, in 2006.

The findings of the Chernobyl Forum were disseminated in 2009-2013 during the implementation of the joint UNDP, IAEA, UNICEF and WHO project “International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN)”. Main focus of the project was on mitigation of psycho-social impact, capacity building, and information dissemination via education and training of primary health care workers, teachers, journalists, and community leaders in the Chernobyl affected regions of Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.