10.L. Workshop: City-level action to promote public health

Abstract

Abstract With over 50% of the world's population living in cities, urban action on health is a foremost global priority. This workshop will highlight the essential role city governments play in developing and implementing policies and practices to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries. Although traditionally perceived as the domain of national governments, actions to protect citizens from risk factors- including air quality, speeding and unsafe road conditions- that cause NCDs and injuries are readily being adopted and implemented by cities. This is due to both the magnitude of the chronic disease and injury burden and the subsequent need for immediate action, and the proximity local governments have to directly changing environments to improve health outcomes. The World Health Organization's (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network has long supported cities in the region in their efforts to put health at the centre of their social, political and economic agendas. This work has been formative in drawing attention to the role of cities. The presentations in this panel will provide specific practice examples of the principles upheld by that network. The workshop will present a diverse set of case studies illuminating city responses to NCDs and injuries, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing so, the discussion will demonstrate the value of what empowered, committed and well-resourced local governments - specifically Health and Transportation Departments - can do to reduce death and disability in urban settings. Showcasing these examples will also provide workshop participants with practical examples of how policy and practice are translated from the global and national to the local level in a variety of geographical settings, and the different ways in which context has been taken into account during implementation. The result will be an exchange of good practices that will hopefully spur other cities and relevant stakeholders to pursue similar interventions in their own municipalities. Key messages City-level action can effectively address leading risk factors to health. Exchanging learnings from city experiences can lead to replication and adaptation in other cities.