The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion Ottawa 17

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion Ottawa, 17 -21 November 1986 Health Promotion Action Means

Prerequisite for Health • The fundamental conditions and resources for health are: • • peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity.

• Health promotion strategies and programmes should be adapted to the local needs and possibilities of individual countries and regions to take into account differing social, cultural and economic systems. 1. Advocate 2. Mediate 3. Enable

Build Healthy Public Policy • The aim must be to make the healthier choice the easier choice for policy makers as well. • Health promotion goes beyond health care. It puts health on the agenda of policy makers in all sectors and at all levels, directing them to be aware of the health consequences of their decisions and to accept their responsibilities for health.

• Health promotion policy combines diverse but complementary approaches including legislation, fiscal measures, taxation and organizational change. It is coordinated action that leads to health, income and social policies that foster greater equity. Joint action contributes to ensuring safer and healthier goods and services, healthier public services, and cleaner, more enjoyable environments.

Create Supportive Environment • Systematic assessment of the health impact of a rapidly changing environment - particularly in areas of technology, work, energy production and urbanization - is essential and must be followed by action to ensure positive benefit to the health of the public.

Strengthen Community Actions • the heart of this process is the empowerment of communities - their ownership and control of their own endeavours and destinies. • Community development draws on existing human and material resources in the community to enhance selfhelp and social support, and to develop flexible systems for strengthening public participation in and direction of health matters. This requires full and continuous access to information, learning opportunities for health, as well as funding support.

Develop Personal Skills • Health promotion supports personal and social development through providing information, education for health, and enhancing life skills. • This has to be facilitated in school, home, work and community settings. Action is required through educational, professional, commercial and voluntary bodies, and within the institutions themselves.

Reorient Health SErvices • The responsibility for health promotion in health services is shared among individuals, community groups, health professionals, health service institutions and governments. • Health services need to embrace an expanded mandate which is sensitive and respects cultural needs. This mandate should support the needs of individuals and communities for a healthier life, and open channels between the health sector and broader social, political, economic and physical environmental components.

A threefold strategy to Health Promotion (WHO, 1994) • Advocacy for Health ü The aim is to generate public demand, place health issues high on the public agenda and effectively convince those who are influential : policy-makers, elected representatives, professionals, political & religious leaders, and interest groups, to act in support of health ü Advocacy directed at policy makers and decision makers : to help them recognize that health is an economic and political asset, by : -strengthening political commitment to health -promoting social policies conducive to positive action for health -supporting systems that are responsive to people’s needs and aspirations

ü Advocacy directed at professionals, public figures and service providers : should seek to make them sensitive to people’s needs and demands, but without adequate support systems are not enough to lead people to action ü Advocacy directed at the public : should help to create interest and support for positive health action ü Advocacy directed at academic leaders: should aim to stimulate interest in study of the aspects of policy and other factors that facilitate progress in health

• Social support for health üThere are 2 important targets : 1) consists of community organizations and institutions that encourage healthy lifestyles as a social norm and foster community actions for health 2) comprises systems that provide the infrastructure for health care services and related development activities that have an influence on health

• Empowerment for health ü This strategy equip individuals, families and communities with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to take positive action for health and make sound health choices ü It should help people to learn how specific choices of behavior can affect their own health, their families and communities ü It should also enable people to participate fully in national and community health actions ü Empowerment strategies should complement strategies for advocacy and social support in encouraging people to take control of their own health and become partner in the systems that can help them to lead healthy lives