Background and Context:
Finland has a long history of implementing health policies intersectorally. In recent years important developments to further strengthen comprehensive health policy-making have taken place in the public sector.
The Finnish national NCD Alliance, formed in2014 by major NCD-related NGOs, is currently defining its strategies and actions to strengthen national health policy-making.
Aim:
The aim is to strengthen comprehensive national level health policy-making for improved NCD prevention and for health equity.
Strategy/Tactics:
A dialogue with Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH) and other relevant actors is being held by the NCD Alliance to strengthen common efforts for NCD prevention.
Programme/Policy Process:
Since 2010 MSAH together with the Council of State and all Ministries has developed a comprehensive plan to implement Health in All Policies (HiAP) in which: 1) most important entry points for HiAP implementation were identified, 2) improved methods for health impact assessments and processes to improve policy proposals were developed, 3) commitment for and processes of HiAP implementation were strengthened.
Approaching the next parliamentary elections to be held in Spring 2015, during the fall 2014, the NCD Alliance identified its priorities for the next government period, interacted with the MSAH and relevant other actors to find alliances for an intersectoral NCD prevention programme, and for other strategic actions to improve health and health equity. In the presentation HiAP implementation plans and complementary efforts of the NCD alliance for improved NCD prevention will be described.
Outcomes/What was learned:
To be able to act effectively, strategies and future plans of relevant actors need to be explored, interventions need to be carefully planned, and when possible they should complement the plans of others and fit to existing policy cycles.