The Health for All policy framework for the WHO European Region: 2005 update

This book presents the 2005 update of the Health for All policy framework for the WHO European Region, adopted at the fifty-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in September 2005. This is not a new policy but the third update of the Health for All strategy first approved
by the Region in 1980. It reviews and reaffirms the previous update made in 1998 and known as Health21, and incorporates the knowledge and experiences that have been accumulated since then. It also reflects the results of a wide consultation with Member States carried out in early
2005.

This 2005 update develops the concept of ethical, values-based governance. It also offers policy-makers the potential to put values into practice and action. A set of concrete tools is proposed that can be used to check national health policies or national health systems for their respect for certain rights and values.

The update calls for an open-ended Health for All process - a forum for exchanging experiences, examples and case studies of national Health for All activities that countries themselves choose to carry out. In this regard, the 2005 update may be used as a tool for promoting the ethical development of national health policies, in a way that is pragmatic and useful, ensuring the continuous evolution of Health for All in the European Region.