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Belfast Healthy Cities

Our vision is that Belfast is recognised globally
as a healthy, equitable and sustainable city

Healthy Cities 21st Century

Belfast & the Healthy Cities Network

Belfast & the Healthy Cities Network

Belfast has been a proud and active member of the WHO Healthy Cities Network since it was designated membership by the World Health Organization (WHO) over three decades ago. 

In Belfast, our focus has been on health equity and the social determinants of health and in the time since joining the network, Belfast Healthy Cities has through a partnership approach to policy development, introduced a number of new concepts which are now mainstream Government policy at a local and regional level.

In Belfast, much has been achieved but challenges remain: the gains in health for the people of the city are not evenly distributed across social groups and tackling socially determined inequalities requires policy makers to strengthen capacity to systemically act on the social determinants of health and reduce health inequalities. 

The network is an open and collaborative one, where we exchange our knowledge and ideas on both policy and practical work, with the aim of bringing new ways of thinking and working to each city as we continue to strive for health equity and a healthier population. We apply the learnings from our cities to help us locally, sharing it across local and regional networks, and with our partner organisation, whilst also showcasing the very best projects from Belfast across the Network.

Belfast plays a very integral role in the European Healthy Cities Network, from being one of the first members to hosting the WHO European Healthy Cities Network International Healthy Cities Conference twice, where members cities and public health experts come together to exchange ideas, learn about innovation from across the network and agree how public health policy can be advanced.

 

 

The Belfast Charter 

The 2018 International Healthy Cities Conference in Belfast led to the signing of the Belfast Charter for Healthy Cities. The Charter expresses the commitment of political leaders of cities in Europe to promote health and well-being, keep the world safe, and protect the vulnerable, in line with WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2018.

The Charter also set out the Political statement and action commitments for the WHO European Healthy Cities Network in Phase VII, and which we are now delivering in new programmes in Belfast. 

We will continue our work as a WHO Healthy City to ensure that Belfast leads in creating a sustainable, healthy environment for all its citizens.