How does health care in the Netherlands measure up?  How do we safeguard quality in medicines? What is the ‘heel prick’ in newborn babies used for? What are the causes of overweight? How healthy are the Dutch? What does the future hold for public health? 

Information related to these questions is found in the web pages outlining RIVM’s health programmes to prevent disease and congenital birth defects. Information on safeguarding quality in medicines, medical devices and vaccines is also offered. 

Functioning as a national centre of expertise, RIVM supports policy-makers and professionals in public health domains. The non-professionals can also profit from information made available by the RIVM on the National Vaccination Programme or overweight, for example, and the research programmes on congenital birth defects.