The Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion …

1 The Fifth Global Conference on Health PromotionHealth Promotion : Bridging the Equity Gap5-9th June 2000, mexico .. Opening Ceremony .. Technical-Ministerial Sessions .. Technical Themes and Case Studies .. 6 Technical Theme 1 : Evidence Base for Health Promotion .. 6 Technical Theme 2 : Investment for Health .. 7 Technical Theme 3 : Social Responsibility for Health .. 9 Technical Theme 4: Building Community Capacity and Empowerment of the Theme 5 : Securing an Infrastructure for Health Theme 6 : Reorienting Health Framework for Countrywide Plans of Action on Health Promotion .

2 Promotion in mexico .. issues arising from the of the relevance of Health on the determinants of Health ..17 Bridging the Equity Gap ..17 Health Promotion is scientifically sound ..18 Health Promotion is socially relevant ..18 Health Promotion is politically sensitive ..19 The role of women in Health and Recommendations .. 20 Strengthening the science and art of Health political skills and actions for Health Promotion .. Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion (5 GCHP) Health Promotion : Bridging theEquity Gap was held 5-9th June, 2000 in mexico City.

3 This Conference built on the advances ofthe previous four International Health Promotion Conferences, particularly taking forward thepriorities of the last International Conference on Health Promotion held in Jakarta, Indonesia First International Conference on Health Promotion held in Ottawa, Canada, in 1986created the vision by clarifying the concept of Health Promotion , highlighting the conditions andresources required for Health and identifying key actions and basic strategies to pursue the WHOpolicy of Health for All.

4 The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion identified prerequisites for healthincluding peace, a stable ecosystem, social justice and equity, and resources such as education,food and income. Key actions to promote Health included building healthy public policy, creatingsupportive environments, strengthening community actions, developing personal skills, andreorienting Health services. The Ottawa Charter thus highlighted the role of organizations,systems and communities, as well as individual behaviours and capacities, in creating choices andopportunities for the pursuit of Health and healthy public policy was explored in greater depth at the Second InternationalConference on Health Promotion in Adelaide in 1988.

5 Public policies in all sectors influence thedeterminants of Health and are a major vehicle for actions to reduce social and economicinequities, for example by ensuring equitable access to goods and services as well as Health Adelaide Recommendations on Healthy Public Policy called for a political commitment to Health byall sectors. Policy-makers in diverse agencies working at various levels (international, nationalregional and local) were urged to increase investments in Health and to consider the impact oftheir decisions on Health .

6 Four priority areas for action were identified: supporting the Health ofwomen; improving food security, safety and nutrition; reducing tobacco and alcohol use; andcreating supportive environments for latter priority became the focus of the Third International Conference on HealthPromotion in Sundsvall, Sweden, in 1991. Armed conflict, rapid population growth, inadequatefood, lack of means of self determination and degradation of natural resources are among theenvironmental influences identified at the Conference as being damaging to Health .

7 The SundsvallStatement on Supportive Environments for Health stressed the importance of sustainable developmentand urged social action at the community level, with people as the driving force of statement and the report from the meeting were presented at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992and contributed to the development of Agenda Fourth International Conference on Health Promotion held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1997reviewed the impact of the Ottawa Charter and engaged new players to meet Global challenges.

8 Itwas the first of the four International Conferences on Health Promotion to be held in adeveloping country and the first to involve the private sector in an active way. The evidencepresented at the Conference and experiences of the previous decade showed that healthpromotion strategies contribute to the improvement of Health and the prevention of diseases indeveloping and developed countries alike. These findings helped to shape renewed commitmentto the key strategies and led to further refinement of the approaches in order to ensure theircontinuing relevance.

9 Five priorities were identified in the Jakarta Declaration on Leading HealthPromotion into the 21st were confirmed in the following year in the Resolution on Health Promotion adopted by theWorld Health Assembly in May 1998:1. Promoting Social Responsibility for Health2. Increasing Community Capacity and Empowering the Individual3. Expanding and Consolidating Partnerships for Health4. Increasing Investment for Health Development5. Securing an Infrastructure for Health PromotionAt the start of the new century, two challenges remain: to better demonstrate and communicatethat Health Promotion policies and practices can make a difference to Health and quality of life;and to achieve greater equity in Health .

10 Concern for equity is at the core of the Health promotionconcept and a thread that runs through the previous conferences and their declarations. Ourunderstanding of the root determinants of inequities in Health has improved significantly. Yetinequalities in social and economic circumstances continue to increase and erode the conditionsfor Health . For these reasons, the Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion focused onbridging the equity gap both within and between objectives, structure and processesThe Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion had as its overall goal an examination of thecontribution made by Health Promotion strategies to improving the Health and quality of life ofpeople living in adverse circumstances.