The Behavioural and Cultural Insights Technical Advisory Group (BCI-TAG) gathered for its first face-to-face meeting on 27–28 February in Copenhagen, Denmark, after having had 4 online meetings.
Established in 2022, the TAG-BCI provides expert advice and support to, and engages in the current work of, the BCI Unit. The BCI Unit at WHO/Europe is a flagship initiative of the WHO European Programme of Work 2020–2025 – “United Action for Better Health in Europe”. The Unit leads efforts, advances evidence and provides technical guidance to Member States in this field.
During the meeting, the TAG-BCI and BCI Unit evaluated their ongoing collaboration and discussed effective collaboration mechanisms. Discussions also related to achieving the vision and goals of the BCI resolution adopted at the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in September 2022.
“The WHO European Region is facing pressing health challenges and more efforts are needed to understand factors that affect health behaviours to inform health-related policies, services and communication,” says Dr Robb Butler, Executive Director of the Regional Director’s Office. “Bringing together various disciplines relevant to BCI for health – such as psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science and cultural studies – the TAG is delivering great value to this critical area of work. We are grateful for their support and pleased to join forces to advance the implementation of the BCI Regional Action Framework.”
BCI in the WHO European Programme of Work
As part of the BCI initiative, WHO provides: support to Member States for specific BCI-related projects; capacity-building activities, through online and face-to-face trainings; an online BCI knowledge hub for evidence and case examples; and guidance documents and other tools.
The BCI Unit has also established platforms to facilitate interaction among Member States, WHO, and regional organizations and actors. It has been engaging extensively with Member States and partners to develop a shared vision and targets, and to support strategic Member State commitments to BCI for health in the Region.
For more information, please contact: euinsights@who.int. More resources can also be found online via the links below.