Health Impact Assessment of

Port Sohar-Sultanate of

Oman

Khalid Hasan Al Hamadani

Outline

Introduction

Health Impact Assessment Definition

HIA Steps

Port Sohar HIA

Introduction

Doctors advise their patients on how they

can stay healthy.

Health Impact Assessment

(HIA) provides the same

advice to communities.

This advice helps the

Communities make informed choices

about improving public health

through community design.

Health Impact Assessment?

The National Research Council defines it:

“HIA is a systematic process that uses an array of

data sources and analytic methods and considers

input from stakeholders to determine the potential

effects of a proposed policy, plan, program, or project

on the health of a population and the distribution of

those effects within the population.”

How to conduct a HIA?

Conducting a HIA is composed of six-

steps.

This is the clearest way to organize

and describe the elements of HIA.

What are the Steps?

The major steps in conducting an HIA

include:

1. Screening

2. Scoping

3. Assessing risks and benefits

4. Developing recommendations

5. Reporting

6. Monitoring and evaluating

Screening

Identifies plans, projects or policies for

which an HIA would be useful.

Scoping

Identifies which health effects to

consider in an affected population

from a certain plan, project or a policy.

Assessing risks and benefits

This step Identifies:

1. People who may be affected.

2. How they may be affected.

Developing

Recommendations

Identify alternatives to the proposal

Identify specific actions that could be

taken to avoid, minimize, or mitigate

adverse effects

Take advantage of opportunities for a

proposal to improve health

Reporting

The communication of findings and

recommendations to:

1. Decision-makers

2. The public

3. Other stakeholders

Monitoring and Evaluating

Monitoring can consist of:

1. Tracking the adoption and

implementation of HIA

recommendations.

2. Tracking changes in health

indicators.

as a new policy, program, plan, or

project is implemented.

Monitoring and Evaluating

Evaluation can be:

1. Process evaluation (evaluation of whether the HIA was conducted according to its plan of action and applicable standards)

2. Impact evaluation (evaluation of whether the HIA influenced the decision-making process)

3. Outcome evaluation (evaluation of whether implementation of the proposal changes health outcomes or health determinants)

Port Sohar-Sultanate of

Oman

Port Sohar

Port of Sohar is a deep sea port.

The management of the port lies with

Sohar Industrial Port Company

SAOC, a 50/50 joint venture between

the Government of Oman and the Port

of Rotterdam.

Port Sohar

Port of Sohar houses three clusters: logistics, petrochemicals and metals.

World-leading companies:

1. Vale

2. Air Liquide

3. Larsen & Toubro

4. Methanol Holding International

5. Jindal Power & Steel

are established in Port of Sohar.

Health Impact Assessment

of

Port Sohar

Screening

Why does this project need a HIA?

Because of the existence of public

concern or controversy regarding health

effects of a current project.

Scoping

Population of the affected area

complains of respiratory diseases and

increased rates of oncological

diseases.

Scoping

Health affects that should be

considered in this project:

1. Respiratory diseases.

2. Oncological diseases.

3. Poisoning from chemicals

4. Dermatological diseases

5. Environmental concerns

Assessing risks and benefits

Who are the people affected?

Residents of the village beside the port.

Specially young children.

How are they affected?

Mainly by air, through smoke, dust, and

the smell of chemicals.

But there are other ways of exposure to

consider.

Assessing risks and benefits

So we need data to assess the

baseline of the village residents for the

diseases of concerns and other

diseases that might arise from the

exposures from the factories.

Developing

Recommendations First, the people should be included

Second, Both Ministries of Health and

Ministry of Environment & Climate

Affairs should be involved.

Third, The Port of Sohar authorities

should be involved and the companies

Developing

Recommendations General Recommendations:

1. Apply international standards on

control of smoke, dust and other

exposures.

2. Move the residents of affected areas

to a safer place.

3. Develop better policies on how to get

of chemical waste.

Reporting

This should be reported to the:

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Environment & Climate

Affairs

Majles al Shura (Omani Parliament)

Companies involved in Port Sohar

The public through the media

Monitoring and Evaluating

Monitoring should be done through

“Health Indicators”.

Evaluating should be done through

“Outcome Evaluation”

References

CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/hia.

htm

Improving Health in the United States:

The Role of Health Impact

Assessment

WHO: http://www.who.int/hia/en/

Acknowledgement

Occupational and Environmental

Health Department -Yale University;

For their support and welcoming

during my elective period.

Dr.Khalid Al Maani a fellow medical

Student and a dear friend for his help

in providing information, that

contributed to this presentation.

Thank You