Global Heath Leaders and Experts meeting in Shanghai, have agreed a new health promotion course in the sustainable development goals to guide national governments for next 15 years in .
In emphasising how health and sustainable development are inextricably connected, the World Health Organisation invited few experts of public health promotion, ministers and mayors to chart a new course for the next 15 years, aimed at inspiring national governments, municipal leaders and other stakeholders to grasp the great potential of promoting health across all sectors of society.
The meeting, which is underway, was formally opened by the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang and the Secretary –General, United Nations Ban Ki – moon with two bold landmark world commitments agreed and declared by delegates – that is Shanghai Declaration, on promoting health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Shanghai Consensus on Healthy Cities, 2016.
By an official invitation, Dr Dacosta Aboagye, a Public Health Promotion Practitioner and Dr Grace Kafui Annan, Head of Health Promotion – Ghana Health Service are delegates of this Global meeting hosted by the Government of China and the Municipal Government of Shanghai in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
The Forum is entitled “Promoting health in the Sustainable Development Goals: Health for all and all for health,”
The goal is to highlight the critical links between promoting health and the 2030 Agenda for United Nation Sustainable Development with an objective to provide guidance to Member States on how to reflect promoting health into national Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) responses, and how to accelerate progress on SDG targets.
The conference is thus to exchange national experiences in: strengthening good governance for health through action across government sectors; broadening and strengthening social mobilization and promoting health literacy.
It highlights the health sector’s changing role as the key advocate for promoting health and highpoint the crucial role that cities – and municipal leaders, especially Mayors play in promoting health (creating Healthy Cities), in the context of an increasingly urbanized global population.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world’s ambitious and universal “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity”, includes 17 Goals, 169 targets and 231 initial indicators.
The Agenda offers a new opportunity to involve multiple stakeholders to ensure that all people can fulfil their potential – to live in health and with dignity and equality.
On impact of the meeting to Ghana’s health promotion agenda, Dr Grace Annan narrated that her department will work with government, the Ministry of Health, NGO’s and stakeholders to align policies, programmes and interventions to the endorsed Shanghai Declaration to the benefit of all Ghanaians.
Dr Dacosta Aboagye, who is also a health systems and financing expert, on his part appealed to the Government of Ghana and Ministry of Health to set up a health promotion outlet or department with the National Health Insurance Authority to expand health promotion interventions, health in all policies , scale up disease prevention strategies and improve access to curative and emergency services.
This forum, he said presents an opportunity for countries like Ghana to recognize that health and wellbeing are essential to achieving sustainable development and as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established a duty for nations to invest in health, ensure universal health coverage and reduce health inequities for people of all ages. The Government of Ghana should be determined not to leave any Ghanaian behind.
Dr Aboagye further noted that policies for health and social justice benefit the whole of society and failures in governance are too often detrimental to action to promote health, at national level.
The interdependence and universality of the Sustainable Development Goals offer great potential benefits from investing in all determinants of health and I am glad, this is what we agreed to be guiding Governments, NGO and stakeholders in the new shanghai declaration of health promotion, he noted.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
