BIG ISSUES, A CALL TO ARMS AND SOME FUZZY INSIGHTS

In this issue one of our Board members and global public health leaders, Kickbusch, asks “Where is the European public health community?”. In a mood of frustration and exasperation she underlines the importance of public health raising its political and professional voice at the national, European and global levels and questions what all the different organisations who claim a public health interest have been doing to mobilise action for public health. She challenges would-be activists to abandon their silos and call one large European public health meeting in 2010, to be supported by the European Commission, the World Health Organization and other major European foundations. She asks whether we could get serious about public health, who will take the lead and can we please start today? All the wonderful academic knowledge on health and its determinants is useless without a focus on policy, change and action. Let us rise to …