World Congress on Public Health, 19-22 April 2004

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) 10th International Congress entitled Sustaining Public Health in a Changing World: Vision to Action will be held in Brighton, UK on 19-22 April 2004.

As public health faces the new challenges, the question arises: is public health in a crisis? The Congress will bring together public health associations and agencies, teaching institutions, international agencies and NGO’s from all regions of the world, to reflect upon and discuss these issues through keynote lectures, country reports, leadership workshops.

The world congress will be held in Europe for the first time in 30 years as a recognition of the growing importance of public health in Europe. In particular, the European Union has developed an increasingly important role in influencing the health of its citizens through a range of policies, including public health, social affairs and the development of the European Single Market. Enlargement of the EU will require new European policy responses to meet future public health challenges, such as communicable disease in a larger Europe, and the heightened disparities in health and health system status between Member States.

Europe has become one of the major forces in adapting to the new social, environmental and economic challenges facing the world and the EU’s growing health role will be explored through a specific European strand of the Congress. This Congress will be a major opportunity for an exchange of experiences between North and South and East and West; for learning from each other; for reviewing progress in global programmes and international partnerships, and for initiating new ones.

Speakers include Ministers, senior EU and WHO officials and leading researchers. Major themes include public health in the 21st century, sustainable development and the economics of health.

 For more information about the event and opportunities to participate, visit the congress website.