Health Action International’s mission is:
a. to promote rational and economic medicines policy, therapy and use ... […]
b. to support networks, countries, groups and individuals supporting the objectives described (above). … […]…, in the broadest sense.
(HAI Foundation Document (amended 2007), Article 2.1, pg1, 1988, Amsterdam) (See Annex III)
Goal: Health Action International (HAI) is working towards a world where all people, especially the poor and disadvantaged, are able to exercise their human right to health. HAI’s goal is to achieve universal and equitable access to affordable essential medicines of assured quality and that those medicines are used rationally throughout the world.
Vision: HAI and its global partners recognise that poverty and social injustice are the greatest barriers to health and sustainable development. Partners are working for just societies where people can participate equitably in all decision making that affects their health and well being, including the allocation of resources. HAI recognises that it is only when societies enjoy sustainable levels of good health that citizens can take a full and active part in development– for development to succeed, citizens need to enjoy sustainable and predictable health and well-being.

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The mission of EPHA is to pay a leading role by advocating for a healthier European society and greater participation of people in policy making at the European level.

The vision of EPHA is to achieve an equitable European society where all individuals enjoy good health and well-being regardless of their socio-economic status. European institutions that are accountable and accessible, policy-making that is transparent and with real opportunities for stakeholder input. Public health as a priority for all actors and addressed rigourously across all policy areas and legislation, and utilising proven public health models and evidence-based population health interventions.

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“The members of the ENWHP work together towards the vision ‘healthy employees in healthy organisations’. They are committed to the mission of developing and promoting good workplace health practice, which in turn contributes to a high level of health protection and sustainable economic and social development in Europe” (Article 1).
This vision is part of two broader visions at European policy level:
The EU Lisbon Agenda identifies the goal for this decade to develop the EU region ‚to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion‘. In this context workplace health promotion is part of the concept of quality in work with impacts on productivity, employment and social cohesion.

The second vision, although not on the same level on the EU agenda, is to develop a Europe of Health. European health policy supports the development of the national health care systems in the frame of established rules of subsidiarity, with a view to meeting the expectations of European citizens.

With its vision and mission, ENWHP contributes especially to the reduction of health inequalities, to the development of a European health information system and to improving important health determinants with impacts on all relevant settings in working and non-working life.

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Health Literacy Survey EU (HLS EU) helps to establish the issue of health literacy (HL) in Europe. This is achieved in two main ways:
- The project contributes to further develop and differentiate the concept of HL, looking at its manifestation in various European regions and cultures, and to demonstrate its overall social and political impact.
- The project will show ways of operationalising HL in various national contexts, implementing working structures and formulating policy impulses and strategies.

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NIGZ as a WHO collaborating centre for school health promotion is responsible for the management of the Schools for Health in Europe network – SHE network. The SHE network focuses on making school health promotion a more integral part of policy development in the health sector and the education sector in the EU member states. SHE encourages each member state to develop and implement a national policy on school health promotion.
SHE uses a positive concept of health and well-being and acknowledges the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The SHE core values are equity, sustainability, inclusion, empowerment and democracy. SHE recognizes the whole school approach to health and active participation of all members of the school community. Health promoting schools support schools in achieving their educational and social goals. Healthy students learn better, healthy teachers work better. They are active agents in the community for strengthening social capital and health literacy.
The SHE network has a strong foundation in its precursor - the European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS)-, founded in 1992 by WHO Euro, the Council of Europe and the European Union, with its experience of developing and sustaining health promoting schools. It has demonstrated progress on an international level with emphasizing the role of schools in improving the health of children and young people, both in EU policy papers and statements (such as the European Pact for Mental Health and Wellbeing, the EU white paper on nutrition, overweight and obesity). On a national level the SHE network has demonstrated progress in establishing and implementing health promoting schools as part of the core work of schools in a number of member countries and has made progress in increasing the cooperation between the health sector and the education sector.


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