San Marino: delegazione OMS ricevuta dalla Reggenza
Annamaria Sirotti
Sul ruolo dei piccoli stati e sull'esempio di San Marino sentiamo proprio il direttore dell'ìOMS per l'area Europa, Zsuzsanna Jakab
The San Marino Manifesto
Implementing the Health 2020 vision in countries with small populations
We the delegates of Member States in the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) with populations of less than 1 million have met in San Marino, on 4 July 2014 to participate in the First High-level Meeting of Small Countries convened by the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
On 12 September 2012, the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region endorsed the new European policy framework for health and well-being – Health 2020.
We are aware that countries with smaller populations have a significant advantage to promote and implement policies and strategies for health and well-being that draw on the contribution of many sectors. The experiences of small countries can provide useful learning opportunities that can then be employed at regional level in more populous nations.
We are convinced that health – in addition to being a fundamental human right – is a key factor for sustainable national progress and prosperity. We recognize the importance of promoting health for all, with particular focus on disadvantaged groups, fostering equitable and sustainable development and reducing health inequities. We recognize that health is a whole-of-government responsibility. The protection and promotion of health and the tackling of today’s health challenges cannot be solved by the health sector alone. Actions in all government sectors and in all of society, at any level – personal, institutional, community, municipal or national – are needed to nurture and improve the health and well-being of the population.
We find Health 2020 particularly helpful in aligning our policies with modern evidence-based, 21st century concepts, principles and approaches.
In particular, we value its emphasis on addressing the social determinants of health and health inequalities, on strengthening leadership and participatory management for health, on improving health throughout the life-course, on tackling the burden of noncommunicable diseases, on strengthening people-centred health care and public health systems, and on creating resilient communities that can withstand social and economic transitions.
Through our cooperation and commitment we want to act as facilitators, catalysts and advocates of the right to the highest level of health for all as a key value embedded in Health 2020. We aim on one hand to amplify the voice of small countries in European and global health fora and, on the other, to share existing resources and maximize assets - innovating and applying solutions capable of increasing capacity to improve health.
With this manifesto we commit ourselves to work:
- to align our national health policies to Health 2020;
- to strengthen our technical capacity on core Health 2020 aspects, with an emphasis on all determinants of health including the social determinants with an intersectoral approach and sustainable actions to address the four priorities of Health 2020:
- investing in health through a life-course approach and empowering people;
- tackling the Region’s major health challenges of noncommunicable and communicable diseases;
- strengthening people-centred health systems, public health capacity and emergency preparedness, surveillance and response;
- and creating resilient communities and supportive environments; and
- to create a platform for sharing experiences and mutual learning about Health 2020 implementation and beyond.