Mayor Eamon Quinlan & Joe Stokes (chairperson, Healthy Waterford steering committee) with Waterford City’s membership certificate of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network, PHASE VI – December 2016.

Waterford City joined the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network in 2010. The Healthy Cities project is a global movement and its primary goal is to put health high on the social, economic and political agenda of city governments. The European Healthy Cities Network recognises that a city is in a strong position to provide leadership for health and well-being. Cities can influence people’s health and well-being through policies and interventions to improve public health.

Health is the business of all sectors, and local governments are in a unique leadership position, with the power to protect and promote their citizens’ health and well-being. The Healthy Cities movement promotes comprehensive and systematic policy and planning for health and emphasizes:

  • the need to address inequality in health and urban poverty
  • the needs of vulnerable groups
  • participatory governance
  • the social, economic and environmental determinants of health.

This is not about the health sector only. It includes health considerations in economic, regeneration and urban development efforts

For more information on the WHOs work on Urban Health and the European Healthy Cities Network visit www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health