Health and Healthy Equity in all local policies

Belfast Healthy Cities is launching a series of events which aims to build capacity and support sectors in embedding health and health equity as a core element of organisational policy and actions.

The topics for this series of eight lectures have been taken from a needs based assessment carried out in 2008 by Belfast Healthy Cities and partner organisations and include:

• Health & Health equity in all local policies;
• Leadership for health equity;
• Achieving Health equity;
• Community planning for health;
• Community engagement;
• Social marketing;
• Health Spending versus health outcomes;
• Your business is my business.

Through practical application the programme will enable individuals, politicians and organisations to: increase understanding of the social determinants of health; the distribution of health and wellbeing and inequalities in health, understand what is meant by health and health equity in all policies and provide examples of case studies and tools, useful for policy makers and practitioners in redesigning policy to achieve health and health equity outcomes.

If you would like to attend an event please complete an online application form or telephone Caroline Scott at 028 9023 8811.

Belfast Healthy Cities is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people living and working in Belfast through our intersectoral approach. Our aim is to work with decision makers to develop innovative approaches to create a healthy city – a city which prioritises health and is committed to improving conditions for all its citizens.

	Ensure an intersectoral approach to the health development needs of older people	Enable decision makers to take account of peoples' health and wellbeing in the development of policies and projects	Integrate health considerations into planning processes	Integrate physical activity into everyday routines

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, international expert on inequalities in health and chair of the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, delivered Belfast Healthy Cities’ 21^st anniversary lecture on Thursday 8 October 2009 in the Great Hall, Queens University Belfast.

Sir Michael stressed that tackling inequalities in health and improving health for all is the responsibility of all sectors of society. He also emphasized that tackling inequalities is an issue of social justice and should be prioritised regardless of economic conditions. Taking action now is essential to prevent catastrophic climate change, which is a major health risk and will particularly harm those who already are most vulnerable.

At the event, Mary Hinds, Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professions at the Public Health Agency, also outlined the Agency’s approach to tackling inequalities. Joan Devlin, Director of Belfast Healthy Cities, outlined key milestones achieved by the partnership. The event was introduced by journalist David Dunseith, who gave his take on how Belfast and health in the city has changed over the last 20 years.