A World Health Organisation (WHO) event in Copenhagen has highlighted Wales’s commitment to health and wellbeing and putting health at the heart of policies.

The event was designed to highlight how the challenged facing people in Wales and Europe to put people at the heart of decision-making processes and to create prosperous, sustainable and fair societies for current and future generations.

Examples of this include the Well-being of Future Generations Act which sets out seven well-being goals and places a duty on all public policy development in Wales to be sustainable and equitable; the first WHO Collaborating Centre on ‘Investment for Health and Wellbeing’ at Public Health Wales; a commitment to make regulations which will make Wales the first country to introduce mandatory Health Impact Assessment for a wide range of public bodies in specific circumstances by the end of this Senedd term and recent consultations on limiting takeaways near schools to improve child health and wellbeing.

The Minister for Health and Social Services, Eluned Morgan said: "Wales has the opportunity to be a force for change and is leading the way in championing innovative policies and solutions to make continuous improvement in people’s health and wellbeing and put wellbeing, equality and prosperity at the heart of everything we do as a government.

"By creating policies which prioritise health and wellbeing we can build communities, homes, transport systems and outdoor spaces that enable people to age and live well, we aim to support the population of Wales to live healthy and fulfilled lives for as long as possible.

"These high-profile events present a great opportunity to raise Wales’ profile and draw international attention to the innovative work we are doing in Wales to tackle health inequalities and help everyone live longer, healthier lives. They also give me an opportunity to learn from other countries’ experiences and think about how we can apply that learning here in Wales."

Image by Dean Moriarty from Pixabay