The Health Council of the Netherlands or the Dutch Health Council ( nl, Gezondheidsraad) is an independent

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

advisory body with the task of advising the government and parliament about matters in the areas of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from " basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scienti ...

.Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Gezondheidswet §2. Gezondheidsraad". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.

History

The Council's history goes back to 1902. That year, the Central Health Council (''Centrale Gezondheidsraad'') was formed based on the first Health Act (''Gezondheidswet'') of 1901. The first Health Act also provided that an institute be set up that carried out inspections, the Public Health Supervisory Service (''Staatstoezicht op de Volksgezondheid''), nowadays known as the

Dutch Health Care Inspectorate The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (Dutch: ''Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd'', IGJ) is a governmental institution that supervises public health in the Netherlands. It is part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, located in Utrech ...

(''Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg'', IGZ). The Central Health Council was to lead this service. This Council, consisting of the main inspectors of the Supervisory Service and private experts, was also tasked to advise the government. In subsequent years, the double task – governing and advising – caused problems. The Central Health Council advised adequately, but failed as a governing body. In 1919, the second Health Act changed the situation: the government itself took over the Supervisory Service, and the Central Health Council would henceforth only give advice. From that moment on, it consisted of scientists and representatives of societal and professional organisations. The name was shortened to Health Council (''Gezondheidsraad''). Recommendations to the government could concern both societal and scientific matters.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Independent government agencies of the Netherlands Government health agencies Medical and health organisations based in the Netherlands