The opening session of the summit considered the importance of tackling health inequalities to the health and well being of all EU citizens, and to a more prosperous and socially just Europe. It highlighted the nature of the challenge for policy makers across different sectors, and assessed the response needed for effective action, by looking at the experience of member states and the EU public health strategy.
Speakers:
Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Health, England
Patricia Hewitt was appointed Secretary of State for Health in May 2005. From 2001 to 2005, she was Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Previously she was Minister for Small Business and e-Commerce at the Department of Trade and Industry and Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
Markos Kyprianou, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection
Markos Kyprianou has been a member of the EC since May 2004. He was elected to the House of Representatives for Nicosia in 1991 and re-elected twice in 1996 and 2001. He took over as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2004.
Inequalities in health and mortality are found within countries across Europe and beyond. This session explored the scale, nature and extent of health inequalities within the member states of Europe. By drawing out common patterns, causes and explanations of health inequalities, it set the context for raising awareness of the need for action and for framing effective policy responses.
Speakers and presentations:
Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England
Appointed in 1998 Sir Liam Donaldson is the 15th Chief Medical Officer for England. He is the Government's chief advisor on all health and social care issues. Sir Liam is also an international leader on public health and patient safety. He is currently chair of WHO's World Alliance for Patient Safety.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot (International Centre for Health and Society, University College London)
Michael Marmot is Director for the International Institute for Society and Health and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London. He has been at the forefront of research into health inequalities for the past 20 years, as Principal Investigator of the Whitehall studies of British civil servants. He chairs the Department of Health Scientific Reference Group on tackling health inequalities and the NICE Research and Development Committee.
Professor Dr Johan Mackenbach (Department of Public Health, Erasmus University, Rotterdam)
Johan Mackenbach received a Medical Doctor's degree and a PhD in Public Health from Erasmus University in Rotterdam. A registered epidemiologist and public health physician, he chairs the Department of Public Health of Erasmus MC. He is a member of the Dutch Health Council and of the Dutch Health Research Council. His research interests are in social epidemiology, medical demography, and health services research.
John Martin
John P. Martin is Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD; his brief also covers health and international migration. Martin joined the OECD in 1977 and has held several posts in his current directorate and in the Economics Department. He was the founding editor of the OECD Employment Outlook from 1983 to 1986.
What happens in the early years shapes health prospects for life. It can consolidate disadvantage and inequality even before children enter formal education, and reduce life expectancy. This session considered the challenge of achieving a fairer start for all young children, reviewed different policy approaches through the experience of selected member states, and assessed the impact on the health of disadvantaged children and their families
Speakers and presentations:
Professor Al Alynsley-Green, Children's Commissioner for England
Professor Aynsley-Green was appointed Children's Commissioner in March 2005, acting as an independent voice for children and young people, championing their interests and bringing their views and concerns to the national arena.
Maria Rauch-Kallat, Minister for Health, Austria
After a 16 year teaching career Maria Rauch-Kallat became Managing Director of Soziales Hilfswerk, a non-profit organisation, running projects for children, families, seniors & handicapped people from 1983-1992. In conjunction with this, she has had an extensive political career. Ms Rauch-Kallat is the current Federal Minister for Health and Women
Terttu Savolainen, State Secretary for Health, Finland
In January 2005, Terttu Savolainen was appointed State Secretary for the Minister of Health and Social Service.
Gunnar Ågren, Director General of the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.
After his medical studies at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, he worked as a social psychiatrist at the Social Welfare Administration in Stockholm from 1972 to 1982 followed by Research Director from 1982 to 1999. His PhD dissertation in 1989 was entitled 'Alcohol-Related Mortality in Relation to Social Factors in Stockholm and the whole of Sweden.'
Naomi Eisenstadt CB
Naomi Eisenstadt has a long history of working in the Early Years field. Having gained a Diploma in Early Childhood Education from the University of California, she worked in nurseries in Edinburgh and Milton Keynes. She established Moorland Children's Centre and was involved in developing early years services. More recently she has worked for the Open University, NCVO, Save the Children, and Family Service Units. She is currently Director of the Sure Start, Extended Schools and Families Group in the Deptartment for Education and Skills.
Health inequalities reflect the wider social and economic environment in which people live. This session highlighted the links between poverty and the other social determinants of health. It explored the connections between poverty and later ill health, and consider key issues in effective policy making. The session emphasised the importance of action on a range of social and economic factors, and the need for addressing a large part of the population rather than just socially excluded groups, to reduce the impact of poverty and health inequalities on people's lives.
Speakers and presentations:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Parliamentary Under Secretary (Lords) for the Department of Work and Pensions
Philip Hunt was the first Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, and previously Director of the National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts (NAHAT) from its formation in 1990.
Sean Power, Minister of State, Department of Health and Children, Ireland
Seán Power was was promoted to Minister of State in the Department of Health and Children in September 2004. He has special responsibility for Services for Health Promotion, Public Health and Older People. Minister Power's mission is to support, protect and empower individuals, families and their communities to achieve their full health potential.
Mrs L Kootstra, Netherlands Ministry of Health and Welfare
Lenie Kootstra has been Director of the Public Health Directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Health since 2004. Previously, she was in charge of the Directorate for Youth Policy at the Ministry from 2000-2004. Prior to that she worked for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment in several management and policy advice positions in secondary education, labour market policy and industrial relations.
David Parker, Deputy Director, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy
David Parker's current research addresses child poverty and deprivation in relation to the fulfilment of children's rights. He has served with UNICEF since 1987, at headquarters level in the area of social policy analysis, in Kathmandu as regional economist and planning officer for South Asia, and in Beijing as Senior Programme Coordinator for UNICEF's China country programme. He has written and published in the fields of health economics, child rights implementation and development financing and management.
Individual health behaviours in relation to tobacco, alcohol and nutrition are key factors in contributing to health inequalities and reducing life expectancy across Europe. This session considered the potential for policy development and action to address these and other health behaviours, at EU and member state level. A panel discussion explored the contribution that a range of players, including government, industry, the media and NGOs, can make to help reduce the health gap, and consider their particular roles in shaping health behaviour
Speakers and presentations:
Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care, Scottish Executive
Lewis Macdonald served on the Rural Affairs, Audit, and Education, Sports & Culture Committees and was convener of the Holyrood Progress Group before being appointed as a deputy minister in the Scottish Executive in March 2001. His ministerial responsibilities have included transport, planning, enterprise, energy, lifelong learning, environment and rural development. He has been Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care since June 2005.
Robert Madelin, Director General for Health and Consumer Protection, European Commission
Robert Madelin became Director-General for Health and Consumer Protection in January 2004. He has overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the work of the Directorate-General in its three main areas: public health, food safety and consumer protection.
Professor Witold Zatonski, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Centre, Poland
Professor Zatonski is one of the leaders in public health and epidemiology in Europe, especially active in Eastern Europe and author and instigator of a successful tobacco control program in Poland (ban of smoking in public places since 1996, the World's biggest health warning at the end of 90s, total ban of tobacco advertising, engagement of health providers in smoking cessation).
Dr Robert Beaglehole
Dr Robert Beaglehole is a public fealth physician and is currently the World Health Organization's Director of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion in the Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster. A former Editor in Chief of the World Health Reports he is currently responsible for the forthcoming report Chronic Diseases: A vital investment.
Cilla Snowball
Cilla chairs Abbott Mead Vickers-BBDO, the largest advertising agency in the UK. AMV-BBDO is famous for its advertising for BT, Camelot, Guinness, The BBC, Sainsbury's, The Department of Health (tobacco control) and The Department for Transport (Think! road safety).
Dr Mihály Kökény M.D., M.P
Dr. Kökény started his career in 1974 as a clinical cardiologist before joining the health administration. He served as health minister twice (1996-1998 and 2003-2004) and chairman of the health select committee (1998-2002). Currently Dr. Kökény is the Government Commissioner for Public Health Coordination. He has longstanding experience in international health policy including being a member of the preparatory group of major WHO conferences on health promotion and consultant for the EC.
Joao Salviano
Joao Salviano is a Bureau Member of the European Youth Forum, the European Platform of the National Youth Councils and International Youth Organisations. He is responsible for Global and Regional Youth Work Development in Asia, North America and Latin America; United Nations Cooperation and Health.
Gavin Neath
Gavin Neath is the Chairman of Unilever UK. After graduating from Manchester University, he studied at Warwick Business School and Stanford University. He joined Unilever in 1977 and has worked in its offices in France, Belgium and South Africa to rise through the ranks to his current position today. Mr Neath is President of the Food and Drink Federation and a Member of the Development Board of the Royal Court Theatre.
Government at every level has a role in shaping health and addressing health inequalities. Effective action is a major challenge and needs appropriate investment as well as engagement of Ministries across government, but responsibility for these issues is ordered differently across Europe. This session considered the potential benefits to health and society through well-directed investment, explored key issues for government at different levels - EU, national, regional and local, and considered opportunities for responding to this challenge.
Speakers and presentations:
Rosie Winterton MP
Rosie Winterton MP was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health in June 2003.
Georgs Andrejevs, MEP
Georgs Andrejevs is Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Member of EP's delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees. Mr Andrejevs began his career as a paramedic and doctor/anaesthesiologist. He has been Chairman of the Council of Ministers' Deputies and of the Committee of Ministers' working party on cooperation between the Council of Europe and the EU.
Sir Derek Wanless, Independent Consultant, United Kingdom
Sir Derek Wanless carried out the Health Trends Review at the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Review of Public Health for the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Health. He is Vice Chairman of the Statistics Commission.
Professor Ilona Kickbusch PhD
Ilona Kickbusch is known throughout the world for her contributions to innovation in public health, health promotion and global health. She has had a distinguished career with the World Health Organization and Yale University. She is a sought after speaker and advisor on policies and strategies to promote health at the national and international level. She contributed significantly to shaping the new field global health with a focus on global health governance.
Professor Lawrence Gostin, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, USA
Lawrence Gostin is Associate Dean for Research and Academic Programs and Professor at Georgetown University Law Center; Professor of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University; and Director of the Center for Law & the Public's Health, a collaborating centre of the WHO and CDC. He is Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Research Fellow at Oxford University. He has led major law reform initiatives for the U.S. government including the Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) to combat bio-terrorism and other emerging health threats.
Dr Luigi Bertinato
Luigi Bertinato graduated in medicine in 1982 and obtained his PhD in Internal Medicine in 1987. He joined WHO in 1988 and from 1990 to 1997 he worked at the Italian National Institute of Health and the Italian Agency for Regional Health Care Services. Since 1998 he has been Director of the Office for International Affairs at the Department of Health and Social Services of the Veneto Region. His is a board member of the WHO Regions for Health Network, of the European Observatory for Health Systems and Policies and of the Italian Society for Tropical Diseases. Bertinato is involved in a number of European health and social care projects, in the area of health policy, e-health, health promotion, and patient mobility.
Formulating a clear, planned response and assigning roles and responsibilities is one way in which governments can deal with the challenge of reducing the health gap. This session considered how member states have addressed these issues. It looked at how planning and programmes have been tailored to different forms of government; how member states have identified priorities for effective action, key policy levers and success criteria; and how support can be fostered across different government ministries.
Speakers and presentations:
Harry Burns, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland
Harry Burns graduated in medicine in 1974. Since 1993 he has been Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow Health Board which is responsible for organising health care and maintaining the health of one million people in the West of Scotland. He took up post as Chief Medical Officer for Scotland in September 2005.
Caroline Flint, Minister for Public Health, England
Caroline Flint MP is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health at the Department of Health, including health improvement and health protection. Prior to becoming a Minister in June 2003, Caroline was Chair of the All Party Childcare Group, which she founded. She served on the Education & Employment Select Committee from 1997-99.
Irene Nilsson Carlsson, Ministry of Social Affairs, Sweden
Director Iréne Nilsson Carlsson is head of the Division for Public Health at the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. She is responsible for the coordination of public health policy in the government. She was in charge of elaborating the government bill on Public Health Objectives. Lifestyle related health determinants such as alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, obesity and excessive gambling is also on her agenda. The combat against infectious diseases is another responsibility. Ms Nilsson Carlsson is a member of the board of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Sir Liam Donaldson
Joop ten Dam, Netherlands Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Anu Kasmel, Board Member, Estonian Union for Health Promotion
Imogen Sharp, Head of Health Inequalities Programme, UK Presidency of the EU
The final plenary session reviewed the lessons of the Summit for governing for health and tackling health inequalities. It highlighted the global context and consider how international agencies can play their part in this work, and support and facilitate action in member states across Europe. This session closed the Summit by emphasising the long-term and sustainable benefits of tackling health inequalities for Europe and its people, and looked to international agencies and future EU Presidencies to help carry this work forward.
Speakers:
Dr. Andrew McCormick, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland
Dr. McCormick has been Permanent Secretary, DHSSPS, since August 2005.
Giovanni Berlinguer
Giovanni Berlinguer is a graduate in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome. He is a member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. He was elected in the Chamber of Deputies in 1972 and in the Senate of the Republic in 1983. In the Italian Parliament, he worked in the Commissions on Environment and on Health. He was elected as member of the European Parliament in 2004 and works in the Commissions "Environment and Health"
and "Culture, Education and Information"
.
Marc Danzon, Regional Director, WHO Europe, Copenhagen
Dr Danzon joined the Comité français d'éducation pour la santé in 1974, following his medical training. As director from 1989-1992, he organised national health promotion campaigns and developed a countrywide network for health education. During 1985-1989 at the Regional Office for Europe of WHO, Dr Danzon organised the first European Conference on Tobacco Policies. In 1992, he returned as Director of the new Department for Country Health Development and implemented the EUROHEALTH programme for Central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent states. He joined the Fédération nationale de la mutualité française as Director for Public Health in 1997. In September 1999 Dr Danzon was elected as the WHO Regional Director for Europe.
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, UK
In 2001, Hilary Benn was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development. Between 2002 and 2003, he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Community and Custodial provision. In 2003 he was appointed as Minister of State for International Development and in October that year was made Secretary of State for International Development.
Health inequalities research - what are the issues?
While the health of people in Europe is generally getting better, this is accompanied by an increase in inequalities in health. There is a body of work on defining the problem, but the developing evidence base and map of interventions to address inequalities in health demonstrates that there are considerable gaps in our understanding about what works to solve it. This relates to issues of targeting, the appropriateness of interventions and the role of complex cultural factors. This workshop was intended to identify some of the key areas that future research in area of health inequalities could usefully focus upon in order to inform policymaking.
Contributors included:
Professor Sir Michael Marmot - Chair of Scientific Reference Group, Health Inequalities Unit
Dr Octavi Quintana-Trias - Director, EC DG Research
Regional and city approaches to reducing health inequalities - is there a need for greater cooperation across Europe?
This workshop looked at current regional and local initiatives to tackle health inequalities, and consider the need for further coordinated action. The workshop considered the challenges faced by regions and cities at local level across Europe, the benefits of addressing health inequalities locally, and the vital role of regional and economic development agencies, working with health partners. It built on existing work such as WHO Healthy Cities and WHO Regions for Health initiatives. In particular, participants considered the need and scope for future collaboration, and considered a proposal for a future joint funding application to the European Commission. The workshop brougth together politicians and policy-makers from within Member States.
Contributors included:
Clive Needle - Director, EuroHealthNet
Bente Nielsen - Regional Councillor, Region of Aarhus, Representative of the Committee of the Regions
Policy and practice - how are member states tackling health inequalities?
In this workshop, participants considered the policies in different European member states to reduce health inequalities, including stages of development and best practice, enabling participants to set the work in their own country in the context of other strategies across Europe. The workshop considered implications for both policy and research, and for the Commission's work, including the new Expert Working Group on Social Determinants of Health Inequalities, the Public Health Programme, and the Research Framework.
Contributors included:
Professor Ken Judge, Head of Public Health and Health Policy, University of Glasgow
Dr Elisabeth Pott - Director, Federal Centre for Health Education
Dr Erio Ziglio, Head of European Office for Investment for Health and Development, WHO, Italy
Tackling health inequalities in Europe - the challenge facing public health associations (PHAs)
The UKPHA/EPHA Workshop aimed to demonstrate the key role and importance of the PHAs and NGO sector in delivering and developing policy and action on public health issues across Europe. Vitally in touch with the grassroots workers and communities, these organisations are at the forefront of combating health inequalities. Speakers and discussants from across Europe described their experience and put forward their proposals on how the public health movement might become an influential and transforming partner with government(s) in eradicating health inequalities.
Contributors included:
David Hunter, Chair, Public Health Association, England
Dr Illona Kickbusch, Senior Advisor on Health Policy, Federal Office of Public Health, Switzerland
Dr Bernard Merkel - Directorate General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs (DG V), European Commission
Patterns and trends in health inequalities - what does the information tell us?
This workshop provided participants with the opportunity to consider the patterns and trends in health inequalities in EU member states. It discussed the implications of the evidence, including the availability and the use of data on health inequalities from across the EU, and implications for both policy and research. The workshop also enabled participants to find out more about plans for the development of the EU health information and knowledge system. Professor Johan Mackenbach, who has produced a report on health inequalities in Europe for the UK Presidency, presented his findings at the session.
Contributors included:
Professor Johan P. Mackenbach, Head of WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on Inequalities in Health
John Ryan, DG SANCO, European Commission
How do we engage citizens in reducing health inequalities?
In this workshop, participants will look at and discuss the approaches taken by member states to engage citizens on health issues, particularly in the face of increasing consumerism. This is a particular challenge among disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
Contributors included:
Dr Ilona Kickbusch, Senior Advisor on Health Policy, Federal Office of Public Health, Switzerland
Harry Cayton - Director of Patients and the Public, Department of Health, England
Dr Angela Coulter - Chief Executive, Picker Institute Europe
These meetings looked at how the health care system can be used to tackle local health inequalities, reviewed the potential of health impact assessment on European policy, and explored other dimensions of health inequalities, including gender and ethnicity.
Official website for the UK Presidency of the EU.
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