# Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ottawa_Charter_for_Health_Promotion > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ottawa_Charter_for_Health_Promotion.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Charter_for_Health_Promotion > Source revision: 1292201063 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) International agreement signed at the First International Conference on Health Promotion The flag of the [World Health Organization](/source/World_Health_Organization) The **Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion** is the name of an international agreement signed at the First International Conference on Health Promotion, organized by the [World Health Organization](/source/World_Health_Organization) (WHO) and held in [Ottawa](/source/Ottawa), [Canada](/source/Canada), in November 1986.[1] It launched a series of actions among international organizations, national governments and local communities to achieve the goal of "[Health For All](/source/Health_For_All)" by the year 2000 and beyond through better [health promotion](/source/Health_promotion).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Context The thirtieth WHO [World Health Assembly](/source/World_Health_Assembly), held in 1977, had highlighted the importance of promoting [health](/source/Health) so that all the international citizens had an "economically productive" level of health by the year 2000. Further, a localised European taskforce developed a strategy for [health promotion](/source/Health_promotion) in the [WHO](/source/WHO) [European](/source/Europe) Region.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In the context of this charter, the concept of 'health' is particular. It covers the extent to which a group or individual can fulfil their ambitions and needs, on the one hand, and evolve with or adapt to the environment, on the other. Health is thus seen as a resource for everyday life, not as the goal of life; it is a positive concept that emphasises social and individual resources as well as physical capabilities. Thus, health promotion is not just a health issue, but goes beyond healthy lifestyles to [well-being](/source/Well-being).[2][3] ## Action areas of the Ottawa Charter ### Prerequisites The fundamental conditions and resources for health are: [4][*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] - peace, - shelter, - education, - food, - income, - a stable eco-system, - sustainable resources, - social justice, and equity. ### Action areas Five action areas for health promotion were identified in the charter:[1] 1. **Building healthy public policy** 1. **Creating supportive environments** 1. **Strengthening community action** 1. **Developing personal skills** 1. **Re-orienting [health care](/source/Health_care) services toward prevention of illness and promotion of health** The basic strategies for health promotion were prioritized as:[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] - Advocate: Health is a resource for social and developmental means, thus the dimensions that affect these factors must be changed to encourage health. - Enable: [Health equity](/source/Health_equity) must be reached where individuals must become empowered to control the determinants that affect their health, such that they are able to reach the highest attainable quality of life. - Mediation: Health promotion cannot be achieved by the health sector alone; rather its success will depend on the collaboration of all sectors of government (social, economic, etc.) as well as independent organizations (media, industry, etc.). ## Developments after Ottawa Internationally:[5] - WHO: [Jakarta Declaration](/source/Jakarta_Declaration) in 1997 - WHO: [Health for all](/source/Health_for_all) targets in 1997 - WHO: [Health 21](/source/Health_21) in 1999 - WHO: [Bangkok Charter](/source/Bangkok_Charter) in 2005 - WHO: [7th Global Conference on Health Promotion 2009](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=7th_Global_Conference_on_Health_Promotion_2009&action=edit&redlink=1) - WHO: [8th Global Conference on Health Promotion 2013](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=8th_Global_Conference_on_Health_Promotion_2013&action=edit&redlink=1) Within countries: - United Kingdom - [Our Healthier Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Our_Healthier_Nation&action=edit&redlink=1) - [National Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Plan&action=edit&redlink=1) Even 30 years later, this charter is still considered as a seminal document and template for health promotion.[6] ## See also - [Health promotion](/source/Health_promotion) - [Health For All](/source/Health_For_All) - [Royal Society for the Promotion of Health](/source/Royal_Society_for_the_Promotion_of_Health), United Kingdom - [Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport (Ontario)](/source/Ministry_of_Health_Promotion_and_Sport_(Ontario)), Canada - [Health policy](/source/Health_policy) - [Health departments](/source/Health_department) - [Healthy city](/source/Healthy_city) - [Alliance for Healthy Cities](/source/Alliance_for_Healthy_Cities) - [World Health Organization](/source/World_Health_Organization) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ottawa_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ottawa_1-1) World Health Organization. [The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion.](https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/index.html) Adopted on 21 November 1986. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Ottawa charter for health promotion"](https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/ottawa-charter-for-health-promotion). *www.who.int*. Retrieved 2022-07-25. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Potvin, Louise; Jones, Catherine M. (2011-07-01). ["Twenty-five Years After the Ottawa Charter: The Critical Role of Health Promotion for Public Health"](https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404041). *Canadian Journal of Public Health*. **102** (4): 244–248. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/BF03404041](https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF03404041). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1920-7476](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1920-7476). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [6973872](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6973872). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [21913576](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21913576). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/first-global-conference](https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/first-global-conference) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["WHO | 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090527032409/http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/7gchp/en/). *WHO*. Archived from [the original](https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/7gchp/en/) on May 27, 2009. Retrieved 2021-10-12. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Thompson, S. R.; Watson, M. C.; Tilford, S. (2018-03-04). ["The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: still an important standard for health promotion"](https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2017.1415765). *International Journal of Health Promotion and Education*. **56** (2): 73–84. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/14635240.2017.1415765](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F14635240.2017.1415765). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1463-5240](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1463-5240). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [169021860](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:169021860). ## Further reading - Ewles L, Simnett I (2005). *Promoting Health - a practical guide.* Balliere Tindall: Edinburgh. - WHO (1999). *Health 21 - Health for all in the 21st Century.* WHO Europe: Copenhagen. - WHO (1999). *Reducing health inequalities - proposals for health promotion and actions.* WHO Europe: Copenhagen. ## External links - [Official text (WHO)](http://www.euro.who.int/en/publications/policy-documents/ottawa-charter-for-health-promotion,-1986) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Charter_for_Health_Promotion) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Charter_for_Health_Promotion?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.