European Public Health News * EUPHA President's Column * EUPHA office news * Message from the Who Regional Director for Europe: Non-Communicable Diseases, Inequalities and Development * Health at a Glance: Europe 2010 * Public Health and Welfare - Welfare Development and Health, 10-12 November 2011, the Bella Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

In this section of the EJPH , we provide you with updates from EUPHA, WHO/EURO and DG Sanco. All three contributions look at the state-of-the-art of European public health as well as presenting thoughts on future public health issues. News from EUPHA office looks at our objectives of capacity, knowledge and policy building and EUPHApedia. Of course, we are providing you with the latest information on the fourth European Public Health Conference, Copenhagen 2011. # EUPHA President's Column {#article-title-2} Twentieth century health systems were dominated by clinicians, effectiveness and efficiency. The two revolutions: the control of infectious disease and the battle against non-communicable disease are both still ongoing but the results of these revolutions are very different if we compare the situation in the developed world and in the developing countries. The infant mortality rate is 5.1 in Canada and 97.1 in Haiti, the rate of maternal deaths is 35 times higher in Latin America than in North America, the life time risk of death is 1 in 7.700 deliveries in Canada and 1 in 17 in Haiti. In Western industrialized countries, the success of public health has in many cases changed the nature of these societies making them ‘health societies’, putting health as a main theme in social and political life and as a major individual goal with a high life expectancy and ageing populations and an expansive health and medical care system. This situation is in contrast with the reality of the poorest countries where health is a matter of survival, neglected in the development policies and there is still a lack of access to even the most basic services and a falling life expectancy. To face these challenges the developed world is still too lazy and ineffective. We cannot continue to do public health as we used to but we need a …