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EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGY FOR THE BALTIC SEA REGION

Policy Area "Health" 

Background

The Baltic Sea region is still an area of considerable disparities in health and social conditions. It features places where social and economic problems cause high levels of mortality due to non-communicable diseases, violence, alcohol and drug abuse and the spread of infectious diseases. Further, the growing cross-border movement of people needs to be paralleled by actions addressing inequalities in health status and in the level of health protection.

A healthy population in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is a prerequisite for productivity, economic competitiveness and further development. By aiming to improve the health and well-being of people in the BSR, PA Health contributes to the objective of increasing prosperity in the region. PA Health strives to raise awareness among other policy areas for the impact of their domain on health and for the need to implement a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach.

HiAP is an approach that improves accountability of policymakers for health impacts at all levels of policy-making including emphasis on the consequences of public policies on health systems and determinants of health and well-being. It also contributes to sustainable development. 

Priorities and targets

 PA Health focusses on the following actions:

• Promoting active and healthy ageing to address the challenges of demographic change;

• Engaging and better utilizing stakeholders from other sectors to promote a Health in All Policies approach with focus on the impact of environmental factors, and especially climate change on human health;
• Increasing stakeholder and institutional capacity to tackle regional health challenges.
   

The above health-related actions correlate with the goals and operational targets included in the NDPHS Strategy 2020 and its Action Plan, the WHO Europe Health 2020 Strategy, the European policy framework for health, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, the principle of universal health coverage (UHC), the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030 and other global and regional strategic frameworks. 

Sustainable Development Goals

PA Health contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): most directly to SDG 3 “Good health and well-being” with the ongoing work against HIV, TB and associated infections, the reduction of non-communicable diseases (with an approximate 30% reduction of premature avoidable deaths on average in the BSR already achieved), the prevention of harmful use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances as well as strengthening Primary Health Care, which is of utmost importance for a sustainable healthcare system and access to care for the most vulnerable people.

The secondary effects of good health are far-reaching. A healthy population is a more productive population, which contributes to the SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth“ and a population given the opportunity to be productive is less affected by poverty, contributing to SDG 1 “Zero poverty“.

Other concrete examples include the PA Health work on occupational health and safety (SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”), tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance improving both human health and also livestock health and farm waste management (SDG 2 “Zero hunger” and SDG 6 “Clean water and sanitation”) as well as focus on the health of vulnerable groups, in particular prisoners, contributes SDG 10 “Reduce inequalities”.

PA Health will focus increasingly on healthy and active ageing, to address the demographic change in the region. Optimizing opportunities for good health at all stages of life will ensure that older people can maintain independence and increase their social and economic participation in society, while reducing healthcare costs. This work will contribute to several SDGs, among which are SDG 4 “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote life-long learning”, SDG 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, SDG 10 “Reduced inequality within and among the countries” and SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable“.

Governance – steering committee

Progress

Health is an area, which presents enormous challenges for the region and where targeted, joint action can produce tangible results.

The main achievements in the implementation process so far include, but are not limited to: (i) fostering macro-regional cooperation in health and making it more integrated and inclusive; (ii) providing assistance in identifying potential sources of financing for activities contributing to the implementation of the Strategy; (iii) fostering macro-regional cooperation in policy shaping; (iv) development, facilitation and support of regional flagship projects contributing to the implementation of the Strategy, and (v) increased visibility and recognition of importance of health on the regional cooperation agenda.

One more issue to address is to further efforts to involve other relevant regional stakeholders in the implementation of the Strategy.

With regards to the Flagship Projects, the following ones have been listed for the PA Health in the EUSBSR Action Plan (click on a project name for more information about it).

Activities

AgeFLAG is the flagship under preparation that aims to strengthen multi-sectoral actions for a life-course approach at multiple levels and sectors to prevent disease, promote health, maintain intrinsic capacity and functional ability of individuals to improve healthy ageing and enable well-being in the older age.