The consortium meeting was held on 19 and 20 September on the Island of Lazareto in Menorca (Spain).
The Joint Action ‘Health4EUkids’ of the European project EU4Health co-funded by the European Union and HaDEA is framed in the field of health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases. This project aims to transfer best practices and results of research carried out on childhood obesity, Grünau moves (Germany) and Smart Family (Finland) focused on the prevention of childhood obesity.
Held in a hybrid format, the meeting between the entities has allowed to follow up the activities carried out in recent months and to share the progress of the project, as well as the pilots deployed in the different European regions. More than 40 people shared the activities implemented, the barriers and challenges identified, as well as the solutions defined in order to ensure the good progress of the interventions. The 22 pilots at European level (regions of Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) that are adapting and transferring the two good practices in their contexts, Grunau moves and Smart Family, have presented their pilots and the activities carried out in the first 18 months of the project with the key actors of each community.
This meeting was held at the Public Health School of Menorca and was welcomed by the Director General of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, Mr. Pedro Gullón, the Regional Ministry of Health of the Valencian Community, Ms. Ruth Usó, and the Regional Ministry of Health of the Balearic Islands, Ms. Antonia Elena Esteban Ramis.
It is worth mentioning the presence of Biosistemak and the Ministry of Health of the Basque Government at the meeting, who presented the intervention being carried out in the Basque Country, specifically in the municipality of Erandio, Bizkaia. Under the name ‘Erandio mugitzen ari da!’ the good practice of ‘Grünau moves’ (Germany) will be implemented and adapted. This municipality has been prioritised taking into account socio-economic and other opportunity criteria, such as the favourable predisposition of the local authorities, the existence of a citizen participation structure, and the collaboration of the health centres of the municipality of Erandio belonging to the Osakidetza Uribe Integrated Health Organisation (OSI), the educational community and other key associations in the municipality.
Among the results of the pilot project in the Basque Country, it is hoped that this intervention will promote participatory and collaborative work between key agents and the community, the population of Erandio. Likewise, the aim is to train political, technical, educational and health personnel in the municipality in community participation focused on health equity and health in all policies. Erandio Mugitzen ari da! aims to promote changes in the lifestyle habits of the child population and improve the well-being of the population in general through the improvement of healthy environments, both physical and social.
For more information on the Health4EUKids project, click here.