Health and wellbeing in Wales promoted across Europe

3 Mar 2023 01:47 PM

Wales’s commitment to health and wellbeing and putting health at the heart of policies has been showcased at a World Health Organisation (WHO) event in Copenhagen.

The event, attended by The Minister for Health and Social Services, Eluned Morgan, aimed to highlight how the challenges facing people in Wales and across all Europe can be addressed through putting improving people’s health and well-being at the heart of decision-making. These challenges include the Cost of Living Crisis and tackling climate change and health inequalities.

A deep dive by the WHO showcased unique Welsh approaches in this field to countries across Europe to inspire others to put people at the heart of decision-making processes, and to create prosperous, sustainable and fair societies for current and future generations.

Examples of how Wales is leading the way in this area include:

• The Well-being of Future Generations Act details our seven well-being goals and places a duty on all public policy development in Wales to be sustainable and equitable. The National Indicators and corresponding National Milestones measure our progress in working towards our well-being goals and provide targets for us to aim for in the future.
• The first WHO Collaborating Centre on ‘Investment for Health and Wellbeing’ at Public Health Wales.
• A commitment to make regulations which will make Wales the first country to introduce mandatory Health Impact Assessment for a wide range of public bodies in specific circumstances by the end of this Senedd term.
• Recent consultations on limiting takeaways near schools to improve child health and wellbeing.
• Working with older people to develop local services and environments that support people to live and age well – the Strategy for an Ageing Society sets our vision to create an Age Friendly Wales.

The Minister for Health and Social Services, Eluned Morgan said:

Wales has the opportunity to be a force for change and is leading the way in championing innovative policies and solutions to make continuous improvement in people’s health and wellbeing and put wellbeing, equality and prosperity at the heart of everything we do as a government.

By creating policies which prioritise health and wellbeing we can build communities, homes, transport systems and outdoor spaces that enable people to age and live well, we aim to support the population of Wales to live healthy and fulfilled lives for as long as possible.

These high-profile events present a great opportunity to raise Wales’ profile and draw international attention to the innovative work we are doing in Wales to tackle health inequalities and help everyone live longer, healthier lives. They also give me an opportunity to learn from other countries’ experiences and think about how we can apply that learning here in Wales.