Définition
The National Institute for Health Education and Illness Prevention (INPES), founded in 2002, is a public administrative institution under the authority of the Ministry for Health.
Within the framework of government policy on public health, the mission of this institute is to combat behaviour and consumption habits which carry health risks (obesity, smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction etc.) by planning and carrying out programmes to improve public health, such as encouraging physical exercise, providing information on nutritional guidelines or promoting preventive services such as: the smoking information service, SOS friendship and the HIV/AIDS information service.
With its expertise in health risks, INPES is also responsible for information and prevention campaigns for certain diseases, such as avian flu or Chikunguya, with a mission to alert tourists travelling to affected areas to the potential risks. INPES is also an important statistical centre, producing data derived from research, studies and evaluations.