October 2005

Information

Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Disease

Healthy Living

Through the Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Disease, the Government of Canada is contributing $56.05 million over five years (and $13.7 million per year of ongoing funding) to the implementation of the federal/provincial/territorial (F/P/T) Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy. The F/P/T Ministers of Health are expected to approve and release the Healthy Living Strategy at their upcoming October 22-23 meeting in Toronto.

The Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy

Each year in Canada, more then three-quarters of deaths result from four types of non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and respiratory disease. Risk factors that lead to these diseases, such as physical inactivity and unhealthy eating, are becoming more common, particularly among some vulnerable groups.

In response to this situation, the F/P/T Ministers of Health announced in September 2002 that they agreed to work together on an Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy. In September 2004, the F/P/T Ministers of Health announced the creation of an Intersectoral Healthy Living Network. The coordinating committee of the Network is acting to move the healthy living agenda forward.

As an early commitment to healthy living, the federal government will make the following contributions:

Healthy Living Fund:

The federal government will contribute $27.6 million over five years ($7.15 million per year ongoing) to a Healthy Living Fund. The Fund will make strategic investments at the national, regional and community/local levels in support of sustainable national and community health promotion actions. The Fund's will play a role in developing and exchanging knowledge, and in the strengthening of community-level capacity to promote integrated approaches to healthy living and chronic disease prevention.

Healthy Living Social Marketing:

The federal government will contribute $14 million over five years ($3 million per year ongoing) for a social marketing campaign that aims to motivate Canadians to eat healthy food, to be more physically active and to participate in sport, in addition to communicating the importance of integrating these activities into daily life. The campaign is designed to demonstrate how making small steps can lead to significant health improvements.

Healthy Living Knowledge Development and Exchange:

The federal government will invest $9.2 million over five years ($2.5 million per year ongoing) on Healthy Living Knowledge Development and Exchange.

One of the goals of the World Health Organization's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health is "to monitor scientific data and key influences on diet and physical activity; to support research in a broad spectrum of relevant areas, including evaluation of interventions; and to strengthen the human resources needed in this domain to enhance and sustain health." In keeping with this goal, the Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy will be linked to an integrated research and surveillance agenda to ensure that policy and program interventions are based on the best possible evidence.

Integrated efforts in the development, synthesis, translation and exchange of knowledge on physical activity and healthy eating are required to guide population and public health promotion activities. These will be set in the context of a "determinants of health" approach which recognizes the importance of addressing the environmental factors that affect health. In particular, knowledge development and exchange will be related to intersectoral approaches to health promotion, as reflected in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and, most recently, its Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion.

Health Canada will undertake specific activities on healthy eating, such as the development of a solution-oriented, collaborative research agenda to identify knowledge needs and approaches, and synthesis of evidence to inform the development of healthy eating guidance and tools.

Joint Consortium on School Health:

The federal government will contribute $2.5 million over five years ($0.5 million per year ongoing) to the Joint Consortium on School Health which was established by the federal, provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers and Ministers of Health, and provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers and Ministers of Education. The Consortium's purpose is to provide leadership and to facilitate a comprehensive and coordinated approach to school health by helping the school and health systems to work together.

Intersectoral Healthy Living Network:

The federal government will contribute $2.75 million over five years ($0.55 million per year ongoing) for the Intersectoral Healthy Living Network (IHLN). A pan-Canadian network dedicated to healthy living, the IHLN will foster partnerships and improve collaboration and information exchange among sectors and across jurisdictions. It will bring key players together to integrate and coordinate activities related to healthy living across the country. Specifically, the IHLN will act as a vehicle to direct and advance the development and implementation of the Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy.

To date, the IHLN has contributed to the development of the Integrated Pan-Canadian Healthy Living Strategy, a draft of which was presented to the Deputy Ministers of Health in June 2005 and which will be forwarded to Ministers of Health in October 2005. The draft healthy living strategy includes proposed healthy living targets (in the areas of healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights) and identifies opportunities for action related to Aboriginal peoples, policies and programs, research and surveillance, public information and social marketing.