13
Jan

[The outputs of this meeting can be accessed from https://en.nationalhealth.or.th/15-years-of-health-in-all-policies-hiap-in-thailand/?fbclid=IwAR2jJU2okVK17Fi-UlIHGoktqm_6qZv5P_aoDq41c-Ys0xMufwBy0oYfpFc ].

The concept of Health in All Policies (HiAP) was a result of both national and international developments, namely the Declaration of Alma Atta in 1978, Ottawa Charter for health promotion in 1996, Adelaide recommendation on Healthy Public Policy in 1988, for instant. An official introduction of HiAP concept was made during the Finnish EU presidency in 2006.[1] Another key global milestone of HiAP was appeared in the 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion (8GCHP) in Helsinki, Finland, 2013, when the definition of HiAP was agreed by the international community for the first time: 

Health in All Policies is an approach to public policies across sectors that systematically takes into account the health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and avoids harmful health impacts in order to improve population health and health equity. It improves accountability of policymakers for health impacts at all levels of policy-making. It includes an emphasis on the consequences of public policies on health systems, determinants of health, and well-being. (p.1)[2]

Thailand have been a part of global community, playing parts in the development milestones of all key concepts towards HiAP approach. More specifically, in the context of Thailand, HiAP movement have been contributed to the country’s healthcare reform. HiAP approach have been institutionalized in the Thai context through the introduction and implementation of the National Health Act BA 2550 (2007) in 2007. The National Health Act have been used as a mechanism to mobilize multisectoral actions from all sectors, to create a systematic reform of the national health system. Furthermore, the Act encourages processes for the development of healthy policies and strategies with participation from all sectors. Sharing knowledge concerning the implementation of Thailand National Health Act where Health in All Policies (HiAP) concept has been applied can be beneficial for other partners planning to adopt such an approach to their settings.

[1] Ståhl, T. (2018). Health in All Policies: From rhetoric to implementation and evaluation – the Finnish experience. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 46(20_suppl), 38-46. doi:10.1177/1403494817743895

[2] World Health Organization (WHO). The Helsinki statement on Health in All Policies. Health Promot Int 2014;29(Suppl 1):i17