WHO Centre for Health Development, Kobe, Japan
Vision
Healthier People in Healthier Environments – The Centre promotes the acquisition of knowledge and its application to the improvement of health in development.
Mission
To nurture, support and sustain excellence and innovation in public health research on health in development.
Objectives
Within the overall purpose of reducing health inequity in urban settings, the specific objectives of the Centre are to:
- Develop strategies to reduce health inequity;
- Demonstrate the applicability of strategies for reducing health inequity among exposed populations;
- Build capacity for reducing health inequity; and
- Advocate for the reduction of health inequity.
Strategic Approach
- Monitoring and responding to “felt needs” – aiming to complement the findings of epidemiological and public health research with information about the needs felt by exposed populations;
- Packaging knowledge from a health equity perspective to inform policy and practice – Aiming to reduce health inequity by improving health governance; and
- Developing new knowledge to address existing and emerging areas of vulnerability – Aiming to identify and advocate effective responses and interventions in relation to driving forces.
Core Functions
The Centre’s work is organized around four areas of emphasis:
- Health Governance Research – Identifying what influences health governance decision-making, and learning how to improve health governance decision-making in ways that enhance health assets and resources;
- Best Practice Research – Assessing promising initiatives that aim to reduce health inequity, and developing ways to improve them, scale them up and transfer them to other settings;
- Policy Advocacy – Ensuring that the best knowledge is available for decision-making and
- Knowledge Management – Organizing knowledge to improve accessibility to a wide range of users.
Crosscutting themes with a focus on urban settings include the prevention of noncommunicable diseases and health-related emergency preparedness and response.