A health department is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Each subnational entity often also operates a health department which coordinates county and city health departments. Health departments perform food licensing and food inspection, vaccination programs, free STD and AIDS tests, and other medical assistance. Health departments also compile statistics about health issues of their area. In 1986, several of the of the worlds' national health departments met to establish an international guideline by which health departments opperate. 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’.

List of federal health departments around the world

• Department of Health and Human Services (United States)
• Health Canada (Canada)

Government