“Nine-tenths of our happiness is based on health. With her, everything becomes a source of pleasure” – A. Schopenhauer
The promotion of Public Health is the process that allows individuals to exercise greater control over their health and improve it, as defined in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986). So, for the Promotion of Public Health is required to:
Define a public health policy;
Create a supportive environment;
Strengthen community actions;
Develop individual skills;
Reorient health services.
These strategies have to be used at the same time and not one by one.
The promotion of health, thanks to investments and actions, has consequences on the determinants of health to create a greater welfare for people, to contribute significantly to the reduction of health inequalities, to guarantee human rights and to build social capital. Health promotion is accomplished through people and with them; it is not an activity that is carried above people and not meant for them. Health promotion enhances the ability of individuals, groups, organizations or communities to advocacy to influence the determinants of health. To improve the capacity of communities to promote health education, practice training is needed to take on a leadership role and access to resources.
ISES recognizes health promotion as a process of cooperation between the government and non-governmental organizations, including the public and the private sector for the implementation of actions aimed at the welfare of the person.
ISES activities for the promotion of Public Health:
Promotion of initiatives aimed at eliminating health inequalities and unequal treatment;
Promote of the active participation of citizens;
Development of networking and intersectoral participation;
Develop of procedures to ensure the quality of public health;
Increase the skills and capacity of the population;
Link of health promotion to other fields of political action.