A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their own. Health departments perform food licensing and food inspection (the person who performs this job is often called a Health Inspector), vaccination programs, free STD and HIV tests, and other medical assistance. Health departments also compile statistics about health issues of their area. In 1986, several of the worlds' national health departments met to establish an international guideline by which health departments operate. The meeting was in Ottawa, Canada, and hence the guidelines established are known as the Ottawa Charter. The Ottawa Charter was designed to ‘achieve Health for All’.
"Health department" can also refer to a university health department.
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Most executive governments in the world are divided into departments or ministries. In most such cases, there is a department responsible for health. Some examples:
All U.S. states have a state health department. Counties and cities may also have a department of health; in highly-populated jurisdictions this department's role may be very significant, e.g. the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Subnational entities in other countries, such as the states of Australia, also have their own health departments.