JAKARTA - 1997

The Jakarta Conference was held against the background of major worldwide economic and political changes which had taken place since the three previous International Conferences on Health Promotion (see above). It had three objectives:

* to review and evaluate the impact of health promotion;

* to identify innovative strategies to achieve success in health promotion;

* to facilitate the development of partnerships in health promotion to meet the global health challenges.

The Conference not only endorsed the results of the previous International Conferences on Health Promotion, but also confirmed the relevance for both developing and developed countries of placing health promotion firmly at the centre of health development. The five strategies set out in the Ottawa Charter remained essential to successful health promotion efforts, while clear evidence was presented to show that comprehensive approaches to health development are the most effective, and that settings for health (such as “healthy cities”, “healthy Islands”, “health promoting schools”, “health promoting workplaces”, “healthy communities”) offer practical opportunities for the implementation of comprehensive strategies.

The Jakarta Declaration, unanimously endorsed by the Conference’s participants, sets out WHO’s priorities for leading health promotion into the 21st Century:

* Promote social responsibility for health;
* Increase investments for health development;
* Consolidate and expand partnerships for health;
* Increase community capacity and empower the individual;
* Secure an infrastructure for health promotion.

WHO follow-up activities in 1998 include:

* health promotion in the ten most populous countries (Mega Country Health Promotion Network);

* further strengthening of the Global School Health Initiative;

* developing the “Health Promoting Workplaces” concept;

* developing tools for health promotion review and evaluation;

* co-sponsoring two international conferences: the XVI World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education in San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 1998; and the ‘Working together for better Health’ International conference in Cardiff, United Kingdom, September 1998.

* implementing the 51^st World Health Assembly Resolution on Health Promotion (WHA51.12).

The WHA Resolution endorsed the call to break through traditional boundaries between government sectors, between government and nongovernmental organizations, and between the public and private sectors. WHO is called on to take the lead in elaborating a Global Alliance for Health Promotion, while all Member States are urged to implement the five priorities of the Jakarta Declaration and to adopt an evidence-based approach to health promotion policy and practice. In 2000, a progress report will be submitted to WHO’s Executive Board and World Health Assembly, and it will also provide input into the Fifth International Conference on Health Promotion, to be held in Mexico City, Mexico in April 2000.