Project examples
This page describes five work and consultancy projects conducted by Dr Pascal Haefliger to illustrate the type of services that can be provided by Health & Environment Consulting. Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your projects and needs.
1. Investigation and management of an environmental health emergency
In 2008, hundreds of children living in Thiaroye sur Mer, Senegal, suffered from severe lead poisoning due to a massive environmental contamination resulting from artisanal lead battery recycling. Following an official request for assistance, the World Health Organization (WHO) deployed an international emergency response team to support Senegalese authorities in investigating and responding to this incident. Dr Haefliger coordinated and directed the environmental and public health aspects of this mission. Findings enabled to assess the extent of the contamination, identify pathways of human exposure, estimate risks to health, and propose and initiate risk mitigation measures.
Following the mission, Dr Haefliger led the preparation of a scientific publication describing the incident and discussing the global health problem posed by artisanal lead battery recycling.
Further information is available in:
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"Outbreak of lead intoxication in Thiaroye sur Mer, Senegal. WHO support mission", 7 - 21 June 2008. Dr Pascal Haefliger and Ms Joanna Tempowski, and
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"Mass Lead Intoxication from Informal Used Lead Acid Battery Recycling in Dakar, Senegal", P. Haefliger et al. , Environmental Health Perspectives, 2009, 117, 1535-1540.
2. Teaching environmental health and chemical safety to university students
Dr Pascal Haefliger regularly gives lectures on environmental health and chemical safety to medicine and public health students of the University of Geneva. Lectures are tailored to the interests and levels of expertise of the audience, and usually include general principles, practical examples, and interactive group activities.
3. Preparation of technical documents on analytical methods to measure lead in blood and lead in paint.
In 2010, Dr Pascal Haefliger was mandated by WHO to prepare two guides on analytical methods for measuring lead in blood and lead in paint. These documents aimed at informing environmental health personnel and policy-makers who are not laboratory specialists but who may need to develop plans for blood and paint testing. These guides had to be concise, understandable to non-specialists, and include practical considerations for selecting the most appropriate method for various requirements and contexts. The final documents, reviewed by international experts, are available online at:
- "Brief guide to analytical methods for measuring lead in blood", ISBN 978 92 4 150213 9, World Health Organization, 2011.
- "Brief guide to analytical methods for measuring lead in paint", ISBN 978 92 4 150212 2, World Health Organization, 2011.
4. Assessment of national capacities for the sound management of chemicals
Following a chemical incident that occurred in Mongolia in 2008, Dr Haefliger was involved in the assessment of the Mongolian capacities for the sound management of chemicals. During a 2-week mission, more than 50 relevant governmental, private and public entities were evaluated with regards to their roles and responsibilities in the following chemical safety domains: a) Policies, legislation and arrangements; b) Coordination and cooperation; c) Information need, production and dissemination; d) Risk and impact assessment; e) Risk management; f) Implementation and enforcement; g) Emergency response; h) Capacity development and training; and i) Monitoring and evaluation. The results of the assessment, which are not publicly available, were used to provide recommendations and develop an action plan to strengthen Mongolian capacities for the sound management of chemicals.
5. Management of a WHO project on 10 chemicals of major public health concern
In 2009 and 2010, Dr Haefliger was the WHO officer in charge for a project aiming at raising international awareness, promoting global action and facilitating access to information on 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern, i.e. air pollutants, arsenic, asbestos, benzene, cadmium, dioxins, inadequate or excess fluoride, lead, mercury, and highly hazardous pesticides. A significant aspect of this project was the preparation and review by international experts of 10 information documents summarizing WHO position, guidance, tools for action and recommendations (one document for each of the ten chemicals). These documents are available on the following website: