The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly transformed the societal perception of public health, elevating it to the centre of the global agenda and highlighting its importance to politicians, institutions, businesses and citizens. In 2020, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, affirmed that public health is a fundamental human right and the foundation of social, economic and political stability. Just over a year after the end of this global emergency, it is imperative to learn from the lessons learned, value social recognition, maintain investment in public health, strengthen resilience to global challenges and increase population health gains.
In this context, the National School of Public Health of the Universidad Nova de Lisboa (ENSP Nova) challenged more than 80 public, private and social partners from multiple sectors, including national and international experts, to create White papers [Livro Branco] In public health entitled “Leading the way to a healthy future “Innovation at the service of public health”. This document is not intended to be another diagnosis of the situation, but rather a source of call to action. This joint work produces ten recommendations based on a broad consensus, complemented by prioritization and facilitation of actions to place innovation at the service of public health that makes a difference and fulfils the mission of ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for today’s societies, but also for future generations.
We live in a time of great challenges and opportunities, and our country, like many others, faces complex and interconnected issues: climate change and environmental sustainability, the increasing pressures of an ageing population and chronic diseases, public health emergencies and antimicrobial resistance, governance and economic and social sustainability. The need to change health policies and systems to ensure the health, well-being, economic, social and environmental sustainability of our country is unequivocal.
However, with limited resources, it is essential to set clear priorities. We have therefore jointly identified priority areas: transforming health policies and systems, creating healthier communities, strengthening the health workforce, and advancing innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation in health.
Hey White papers [Livro Branco] It places citizens at the heart of health policy, highlighting citizen engagement and cross-sector collaboration as essential to creating a more resilient and inclusive health system. Innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer play a crucial role, not only in finding solutions, but in actively engaging citizens and effectively positioning them to serve real health needs. The integration of data science, artificial intelligence, social and behavioural sciences is also identified as essential for more informed and resilient decision-making.
The importance of transforming health systems to meet emerging challenges and address systemic problems was identified as vital, addressing the areas of health governance, organization, leadership models and the health workforce. The need for integrated responses from the social and economic ecosystem was also highlighted.
In addition to the recommendations already mentioned, it is important to develop an active, effective and participatory policy for health promotion and health literacy that supports the training of communities and individuals throughout the life cycle, but also creates contexts conducive to health. To achieve this, it is necessary to integrate sectors that are traditionally less involved in health policies, such as education, public administration, justice, environment, work, culture, housing, transport and social security, giving priority to the adoption of “One Health“Which considers human, animal and environmental health to be interconnected.
This unprecedented collaborative work is an example of how the opening of academia to society can become a driving force that transcends borders and breaks the traditional way of working in “silos”. ENSP Nova, as recently designated by the World Health Organization as a Collaborating Centre for Health Management, and having also seen its designation renewed as a Collaborating Centre for Education, Research and Assessment of Health Safety and Quality, positions itself as an active partner in building better health for all – a path that begins with the training of leaders and professionals with excellent scientific knowledge and skills adapted to current and future needs in global health.
The bottom line is this. White papers It is a call to action. It calls on all sectors of society to work together in a collaborative effort to transform public health in Portugal. We believe that we can create a healthier and more sustainable future for all, building a resilient and efficient health system, able to face future challenges and always placing the health and well-being of citizens at the heart of all actions.
The author writes according to the new spelling convention.
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