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Background
Health promotion is a
cornerstone of primary health care and a core function of public
health. Its value is increasingly recognised;
it is both effective and cost-effective in reducing the burden of disease and
in mitigating the social and economic impact of diseases. The links
between health promotion, health, and human and economic development are
widely acknowledged.
The 1st Global Conference on
Health Promotion (Ottawa,
1986) and the resulting Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion are recognised worldwide as the foundation of the concepts
and principles of modern health promotion. The Ottawa Conference and
the subsequent series of WHO global conferences held in Adelaide, Australia
(1988), Sundsvall, Sweden (1991), Jakarta (1997)
and Mexico City (2000) provided guidance and direction on actions to be taken
to address the determinants of health so as to achieve health for all.
Through behavioural, social, policy and
environmental interventions, health promotion has contributed to positive
changes in people’s health-related habits, which in turn have helped to
reduce such causes of death and illness as heart disease, road injuries,
infectious diseases, and HIV/AIDS. The benefits are, however, more
evident in people of a higher socioeconomic status. Hence there is a
pressing need to complement programmes that reduce
risk factors with policies that create conditions for better health in
vulnerable groups.
The context in which health
promotion strategies are applied has changed markedly since the Ottawa
Conference, most notably as a result of globalisation,
which raises both challenges and opportunities for health promotion.
The 6th Global Conference on Health Promotion, entitled “Policy and
partnership for action: addressing the determinants of health” (Bangkok, 7-11 August
2005), was convened by WHO and the Government of Thailand with a view to
contributing to reduction of health inequality in a globalized
world through health promotion.
Countries of the South-East
Asia Region face the double burden of diseases, namely, communicable and
non-communicable diseases as well as health threats from emerging diseases
and natural disasters. The major cause of morbidity and mortality in
the Region are lifestyles related and, therefore, are preventable.
Health promotion, which is a process of enabling people to increase control
over their health and its determinants and thereby improve their health, is
known to be most effective when implemented under the direction of a clear
strategy.
Although calls for Healthy
Public Policies and Strategies have been made at Regional Committee Meetings
in SEAR, World Health Assembly and Global Conferences on Health Promotion
(Ottawa, 1986, Jakarta, 1997, Bangkok, 2005), the South-East Asia Region, to
date, does not have a Health Promotion Regional Strategy in place to guide
Member Countries in the implementation of interventions.
Following the successful
Global Conference on Health Promotion, held in Bangkok, Thailand
in August 2005, the Region is now in the process of finalising
its Regional Strategy through a consultative process which also seeks to
integrate the Key Action Areas identified in the Bangkok Charter for Health
Promotion.
This multi-sectoral regional consultation brings participants to
deliberate and finalise the Health Promotion
Regional Strategy for South-East Asia.
Further, the Consultation invites participants to develop framework for
national and regional Plans of Action for Health Promotion.
General Objective:
To review and finalize the
Regional Strategy for Health Promotion for South-East Asia for
submission to the 59th Session of the Regional Committee.
Specific Objectives:
1. To review and exchange experience on health programmes
in the South-East Asia Region;
2. To review the Draft Regional Strategy for Health Promotion for SEAR
within the context of implementing the Bangkok Charter on Health Promotion;
3. To develop framework for Regional Plans of Action for Health
Promotion including initiation of the Regional Network for Health Promotion.
Specific outcome having
direct bearing on the programme:
1. Consensus on the Regional Strategy for Health Promotion for its
submission to the 59th Regional Committee;
2. The Framework for the Regional Plans of Action for Health Promotion
including the Regional Network;
3. Salient recommendations to Member
States and WHO for
strengthening Health Promotion programmes.
Participants:
Forty one (41) participants were drawn from 11 countries of the
South-East Asia Region from Ministries of Health and Education, NGOs and
experts from universities. Additional twenty (20) participants from UN
Agencies and other development partners involved in Health Promotion also participated.
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