history of health promotion

History 1948 The World Health Organisation (WHO) was established in 1948. Two important statements came out of the World Health Organisation. Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people, which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures. 1978 The WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) held a major conference at Alma Ata in the USSR which was attended by 134 nations. The outcome was the Alma Ata Declaration The declaration acknowledges that health is more than the absence of disease and expands the notion of people as being more than independent biological units to one which encompasses the idea that people are affected by their social, economic and natural environments. 1981 The Alma Ata Declaration prompted the development of the Global Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000 (1981). The major themes of this were: Equity in health Health promotion The need to develop Primary Health Care to enhance preventative activity in primary health care settings Cooperation between government, community and the private sector The need to increase community participation 1986 The Australian Commonwealth Government established the Better Health Commission which reviewed the nation's health from a social perspective. The findings were published in three volumes of Looking Forward to Better Health (1986). WHO identified little change in the eight years since the Alma Ata Declaration particularly in the area of Primary Health Care. The Alma Ata provided a sound theoretical base, and ethical/moral imperative to develop a primary health care approach, but there was no identifiable framework for action. The 1st International Conference on Health Promotion was held in Ottawa, Canada. The outcome was the Ottawa Charter for health promotion which was the action framework for primary health care to be implemented. 1988 The Australian Commonwealth Government produced the Health for All Australians document. This resulted in a number of key developments including: The National Better Health Program which provided money for innovative approaches to meeting health priorities within the states. The Government sought to develop comprehensive goals and targets for decision makers in health, to assist the refocusing of their organisations. The National Goals and Targets document was released in 1993. The 2nd international conference on Health Promotion was held in Adelaide, Australia and produced the Adelaide Recommendations on Healthy Public Policy 1991 The 3rd international conference on Health Promotion was held in Sundsvall, Sweden and produced the Sundsvall Statement on Supportive Environments. 1993 The Australian Commonwealth Government produced Better Health Outcomes which designated targets in health gain to be measured and met within stated time frames. 1997 The 4th international conference on Health Promotion was held in Jakarta, Indonesia where the Jakarta Declaration was developed. This lists the 5 priority areas to lead Health Promotion into the 21st Century. 1999 The 52nd World Health Assembly amended the definition of health included in the World Health Organisation's constitution. The new WHO definition of health states: Health is a dynamic state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. 2000 The 5th Global Health Promotion Conference was held in Mexico City. The conference focused on how health promotion, by addressing the social determinants of health, helps to improve the lives of economically and socially disadvantaged populations. The Ministers of Health from 87 countries, including Australia, signed the Mexico Ministerial Statement on Health Promotion - From Ideas to Actions. This Ministerial Statement affirms the contribution of health promotion strategies to the sustainability of local, national and international actions in health, and pledges to draw up a country-wide plan of action to monitor progress made in incorporating strategies which promote health into national and local policy and planning. 2005 The 6th Global Conference on Health Promotion was held in Thailand. Participants agreed to the Bangkok Charter on Health Promotion in a Globalised World which identifies actions, commitments and pledges required to address the determinants of health in a globalised world through health promotion.