The RHN presented its activities during the Festival of Economics in Trento (Italy)

On 1–4 June 2017 Trento (Italy) hosted the Festival of Economics, which this year focused mainly on health inequalities.

The festival is an ideal occasion for the principal Italian and international experts – including economists, epidemiologists, physicians and sociologists – to discuss the main challenges the world must address to reduce health inequalities and become more sustainable.

The WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development, based in Venice was invited on 2 June to present the activities of the Regions for Health Network (RHN), whose mission is to tackle health inequalities. During the presentation, it was explained that the RHN is committed to supporting regions at subnational level to promote healthy and sustainable policies and lifestyles.

The panel included Francesco Zambon, the focal point for the RHN; Luca Zeni, the Health Councillor of the Autonomous Province of Trento (one of the RHN members); Peter Beznec, Director of the Centre for Health and Development in Murska Sobota (Slovenia), which also belongs to the RHN; and Mario Braga from Agenas, the Italian National Agency for Regional Health Services.

Dr Zambon opened the meeting, presenting the WHO European Health 2020 goals – which include a focus on health inequalities – as well as those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which sustainability is a central theme for development, alongside equity. He therefore focused on the strengths of the participatory approach within the new Trentino health plan, the contents of which were coordinated in close collaboration with the RHN, underlining the extraordinary participatory approach that had been applied, integrating the feedback received by means of the 1200 comments from ordinary citizens – certainly a unique and successful achievement.

The first example of the RHN members’ activities was the Trentino health plan, presented in detail by Dr Zeni, who also spoke more generally about the Trentino system (a peculiar territorial feature of Italy, with a mountainous area and with a birth rate higher than the national average but declining in recent years). He underlined the importance of structural reorganization on the basis of what the prospects are for future development, for instance in terms of the location of hospitals and their connection to the system as a whole. To achieve this goal, Trentino has implemented structured projects comprising transverse activities that stimulate healthy practices. During the meeting, Dr Zeni launched a new app that Trentino has developed to promote healthy lifestyles among citizens.

The second example of how the RHN is at the forefront of supporting regions in implementing initiatives for health promotion was provided by Peter Beznec from the Slovenian region of Pomurje, one of the most active regions within the RHN. Pomurje built a regional programme based on the following pillars: a healthy community, using the slogan “Let’s live healthily”; a healthy diet; and a healthy approach to tourism.

The Trento Festival of Economics offered a valuable opportunity to enhance the visibility of good practices and winning initiatives like those described in Trento and Pomurje to deal with the contemporary issue of health inequalities – both in Italy and internationally.