Targets for health in Europe: the debate continues

Abstract

The WHO European Region covers three quarters of a billion people, in 53 Member States, and reaches west–east from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Under a recently joined Regional Director, WHO European Region (WHO EURO) is reviewing its health strategy. Stein et al 1 have provided an update on thinking about health targets that were first proposed (38 targets) in 1984, and again (21 targets) for the Health in the 21st century strategy in 1998. In the past decade, WHO EURO member states have used national targets for national health strategies; and although headline health indices (mortality rates) were diverging, recently there have been improvements in all parts of the region—even against the trend of the economic downturn (figure 1). But this time, following consultation, the new targets are proposed only for the WHO European Region itself (i.e. at supranational level), whereas the progress of member states will be ‘monitored’ within the entire region. Do member states disagree with the concept of national targets? Are they concerned about differences between the member states? …