Extra vigorous and extensive promotion against common diseases in the country, infectious or not, will soon be the norm in the government to halt the growing number of cases of these illnesses.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque today said that the country is among those who signed the new Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion at the sixth Global Conference on Health Promotion held recently at Thailand.

The Bangkok Charter recognizes new directions in health promotion by advocating policy coherence, investment and partnering among governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to achieve global health.

“We have been doing these strategies in the country in some of our public health campaigns for quite some time now,” Secretary Duque said adding that many successful campaigns involved government agencies, non-government agencies, people’s organizations, civil societies, and the private sector.

Duque was referring to the national measles elimination campaign held in February 2004, which reported 92 percent coverage or vaccinated out of the targeted 18 million children aged nine months to eight years. This campaign involved other government agencies, international agencies, the business sector, civic organizations. Another campaign, the National Immunization Days held in 1993 up to 1996 registered a high number of children vaccinated against polio from 88 percent to 100 percent of the target.

“We need to do this on a larger scale in the way we annually plan not only campaigns but the long-term programs to have the greatest impact,” Duque elaborated.

The signatory countries pledged to ensure that health promotion is central to the global development agenda, that it is a core responsibility of all governments and part of good corporate practice, as well as a focus of community and civil society initiatives.

The said Charter was developed after consultations with the participants of the Conference, who numbered 600 from more than 100 countries. The participants included leading health promotion experts, government policy-makers, non-government organizations, health specialists, and representatives from the private sector.

The document was adopted by conference participants to emphasize the need for commitments from governments in addressing the many global changes and trends that affect the health and well-being of people.

Among these changes are the impacts of globalization, the Internet, greater involvement of the private sector in public health, emphasis on a sound evidence-based approach and cost-effectiveness in public health strategies.