Health systems
Development of HEALTH2020 under way
From left: Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe; Agis Tsouros, coordinator of HEALTH2020 development; and Arun Nanda, Senior Strategy and policy Adviser at WHO/Europe; in discussions on the new European health policy
International experts in public health met on 14 October 2010 to map out the broad goals and targets of the new European health policy, HEALTH2020, at a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Discussion focused on four key questions.
- What is today’s context for health policy in a fast-changing Europe?
- What is the scope of the policy, including its target audiences and main products?
- What values, guiding principles and evidence base should support HEALTH2020?
- What process should be used to develop the policy, which includes involving partners and identifying key milestones?
HEALTH2020
Member States and partners gave WHO/Europe a strong, clear mandate to develop the new European health policy, HEALTH2020, at the sixtieth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in September. The policy is being developed to accelerate progress towards achieving the European Region’s health potential by 2020 by addressing key public health and health policy challenges. WHO/Europe seeks to engage and consult with a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure that a spectrum of views informs the development of the policy and can sustain it in the longer term.