Collaborating on behavioural and cultural insights

WHO supports collaboration between countries and partners and sharing of lessons learned on behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) for health.

It is well acknowledged that behaviours are important for health and well-being. However, there is still some way to go before everybody uses evidence and robust methods to explore, support and enable healthy behaviours.

An example of this work is the WHO regional resolution and 5-year action framework on BCI for health, which were agreed by all Member States in the Region in September 2021. These documents set a joint course for collaboration. It was also an opportunity for the Member States to agree on 5 ambitious commitments. For example, they have agreed to invest more people and money and to conduct more work to understand health behaviours.

WHO has also established a few communities of practice as platforms for sharing and collaboration between countries. For example, all Member States have nominated an official BCI focal point, and WHO regularly meets with this group both online and in person. Other communities focus on using behavioural insights during the COVID-19 pandemic and on health literacy.