Global health expert Ilona Kickbusch, leading initiator of the 1986 Ottawa Charter, talks to Healthy Europe about the 40th anniversary of this fundamental document and future topics in the field of comprehensive health promotion.
Health policies
Healthy Europe asked four decision-makers about the current and future relevance of the WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion for their work. Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Health Systems at WHO/Europe; Korinna Schumann, Austrian Minister of Health; Clemens Martin Auer, President of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG); and Klaus Ropin, Head of Fonds Gesundes Österreich (Austrian Health Fund), responded as follows.
An increasing number of children and adults worldwide are overweight or obese. This concerning situation has prompted Norway to respond with an important countermeasure. Advertising and marketing of unhealthy foods targeted at children under 18 years of age are now prohibited.
“Healthy Streets” is a framework that is designed to turn roads into more liveable areas for people, rather than just transport routes for cars and lorries. In Austria, the concept is being applied in places such as Gleinstätten in the province of Styria.
EuroHealthNet Director Caroline Costongs talks to Healthy Europe about the 40th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter and why laws and strategies for accountability are urgently necessary to counter the health risks of the digital age.
In times of shrinking budgets, the funds available for health and social affairs are under threat. The approach taken by Europe’s health experts to confront this is one of the central issues being discussed at the EHFG 2025. Its main theme is: “Rethinking solidarity in health: healing Europe’s fractured social contract”.
Digitalisation and AI are experiencing rapid growth, but will this result in better health for all? Experts interviewed by Healthy Europe agree on the potential benefits, while emphasising that the transformation needs proper guidance.
The war in Ukraine has brought destruction, death and physical injuries, but it has also left deep psychological wounds. A project by the European Union was set up to provide relief.
Claudia Wild, former CEO of the Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment, on the part played by public institutions in medical innovations and why this is an argument in favour of cheaper therapies.
People who are most in need of healthcare often have the worst access. Measures to reduce social and health inequalities include the European Pillar of Social Rights and a research project on “social vulnerability indices”.