International Collaboration
Health Scotland contributes to tackling health issues in the context of the United Nations' millennium development goals.
We have the status of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in recognition of our expertise in health promotion and public health development.
Quick links on this page:
The importance of international collaboration
The World Health Organization and international consultancy
Council of Europe
European Community-funded projects
International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE)
The importance of international collaboration
In addition to Scotland playing its part in contributing to international development there are potential benefits to Scotland in collaborating in international health improvement projects.
These benefits include:
- Monitoring trends in health behaviours through international co-operation.
- Sharing resources to address health problems which do not respect national borders.
- Sharing knowledge of effective strategies in health improvement.
- Accessing funding and resource support from the international agencies such as WHO and the EC.
- Being actively involved in health promotion in the changing and expanding European Union as an aid to policy development.
- Giving a higher profile to Scotland’s successes in health promotion.
The World Health Organization and international consultancy
As part of Health Scotland’s collaborating centre programme with the World Health Organization (European Offices in Copenhagen and Venice), Health Scotland has actively contributed to WHO’s work on health inequalities and the social determinants of health. This included Scotland being one of three featured case study countries at The Florence Forum in 2006.
A training and consultancy initiative by Health Scotland on developing health promoting schools in Uzbekistan was completed. This culminated in Uzbekistan being formally inducted into the European Network of Health Promoting Schools.
Other consultancy work in school health promotion has been undertaken in Kosovo, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Russia and Cyprus.
Another important strand in the WHO collaborating centre agreement is for the development of the international study on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children conducted by the University of Edinburgh with support from Health Scotland and the Scottish Executive.
Council of Europe
Health Scotland collaborates with the Council of Europe, for example in the writing of the publication Eating at School – Making Healthy Choices in February 2005. This report includes a set of guidelines on healthy eating at school issued by the Council of Europe for all member states.
This was followed up with a resolution on healthy eating in schools from the Council of Ministers. Health Scotland was actively involved in the drafting process, drawing on the features of the Scottish Executive’s Hungry for Success policy initiative on school meals.
European Community-funded projects
Health Scotland is a partner in several EC-funded projects with the support of the Brussels-based agency EuroHealthNet.
Healthy Ageing
Health Scotland is involved in The Healthy Ageing initiative as part of the Commission Project 2.1.6. Health Scotland is one of 13 member states collaborating in this partnership.
The project involves the collection, review and analysis of existing data on health and older people and current practice in Scotland and this in turn will contribute to the international review.
It will also lead to a report on Healthy Ageing in Later Life including an analysis of exiting data and a review of current practices and policies for older people’s health.
Tackling Health Inequalities and Social Exclusion in Europe, Phase II
Health Scotland was the main contract holder for this project, funded by DG Employment and Social Affairs (DG EMPLOI) under strand two of their action programme to combat social exclusion.
A number of the project's outputs were delivered during 2004/05. Project partners collected, reviewed and analysed examples of good practice regarding public health approaches which contribute to tackling social exclusion.
In addition, a series of transnational exchange visits were undertaken. This enabled participating projects to further explore different approaches and practices. A final conference discussed the findings and disseminated results.
The report Promoting Social Inclusion and Tackling Health Inequalities in Europe was published jointly by Health Scotland and EuroHealthNet.
International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE)
In addition to our work with EuroHealthNet, Health Scotland is actively involved with the International Union for Health Education and Health Promotion. Ian Young, Head of International Development at Health Scotland was the guest editor of a recent special edition of the IUHPE’s global journal Promotion and Education devoted exclusively to Health Promotion in Schools.