Life has changed enormously in Europe over the last two decades. Digitization, globalization, migration, urbanization and climate change mean we now live in a more complex Europe. Young people are often the first to be exposed to and affected by these changes and have become outspoken advocates on issues such as climate change.
It is important, at European level and in each country/ region, to understand what young people think, know and understand in terms of their health, and how they behave. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, now presenting its seventh international report, helps us with all of this.
HBSC is truly international, now involving over 50 countries and regions across Europe and North America. It investigates the behavioural and social factors that drive the disease burden in adolescence and adulthood. It understands how policy and practice in sectors such as education, social care, justice and welfare affect young people’s health and well-being. It promotes multiprofessional and intersectoral solutions to the issues young people face today, and young adults face tomorrow. And its primary purpose is to advocate for policy changes to safeguard the health and well-being of one of society’s most vulnerable groups – children and adolescents.
HBSC data are indispensable for WHO and the European Region. Countries and regions use them to develop policies and strategies that focus on improving the health and well-being of this and future generations, and to ensure that the current generation of adolescents grow into adulthood free from the risk factors that jeopardize their physical, mental and social well-being, and affect their educational and employment prospects. And we at the Regional Office use the data first for developing, then monitoring, the new child and adolescent health strategy and how it works in countries/regions across the Region.
The health sector faces increasing demands from citizens through demographic change and rising expectations. The costs of providing health care are rising due to innovative medicines and technologies. The health-care workforce is facing challenges through shortages and lack of training. And the system’s ability to respond is being hampered by disinformation, populist policies and an erosion of trust in authorities.
Based on these developments, I am giving the WHO Regional Office for Europe a new vision that meets the challenges of today and the threats and opportunities of tomorrow. This vision is based on support to countries/regions and international solidarity. It focuses on key areas of action, including tackling the main drivers of the disease burden, recognizing that threats to public health often arise from decisions in other sectors, working to achieve people-centred health systems that bring together public health, primary care, specialist services and social care, and safeguarding all groups within our populations.
This seventh international report and the vital data it presents shows that HBSC is, and will continue to be, a central support of the new vision for the WHO Regional Office for Europe.