"Declaration for Health" unites 50 entities for justice

Fifty organizations signed the "Declaration for Health" this Tuesday, which aims to build a broad consensus to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and fair health system, placing health at the center of the country's social and economic development.

"In a global scenario marked by growing challenges, such as an aging population, the increased prevalence of chronic diseases, rapid technological evolution, and the need to ensure equitable access to care, it is essential to strengthen inter-institutional and intersectoral collaboration to respond, in an integrated and sustainable manner, to the new challenges facing the country's health and progress," the initiative's promoters argue in a statement.

For the signatories of the "Declaration for Health," which will be signed at the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, "cooperation between different entities is key to building truly sustainable, innovative, and resilient health responses that put people at the center of decision-making."

The document represents "a commitment to building a future in which health is consolidated as a universal and accessible right, contributing to healthy longevity, people's quality of life, and the humanization of care."

The entities establish "a broad consensus" around the document's principles, with the "clear purpose" of " building, together and in collaboration, a more sustainable, inclusive and fair health system , placing health at the center of the country's social and economic development."

In line with the principles of the declaration, they argue that “proximity and capillarity of healthcare play a fundamental role in promoting equity, health literacy, and solutions adapted to territorial specificities and local realities.”

The document also highlights the importance of evaluating the system's performance not only in terms of reducing mortality, but also in actively promoting health and adopting effective preventive policies.

It also advocates the need to integrate health into all public policies and to promote knowledge sharing, innovation, sustainability, and territorial cohesion, actively involving local communities, local authorities, social organizations, schools, and associations.

The signing of the “Declaration for Health” concludes the 50th anniversary celebrations of the National Pharmacy Association, bringing together institutional partners and the signatory national and international entities.

The signatory entities include associations representing hospital administrators, public health physicians, private hospitals, pharmaceutical distributors, pharmacies, informal caregivers, the pharmaceutical industry, students and young pharmacists.

The document is also signed by the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation, the Confederation of Commerce and Services of Portugal, the Business Confederation of Portugal, the Portuguese Council for Health and Environment, the Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, the School of Health Sciences and Technologies of the Lusófona University and the National School of Public Health.

The Faculties of Health Sciences of the University of Beira Interior and the Fernando Pessoa University, the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Algarve, the Faculties of Pharmacy of the Universities of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto, and the University of Évora are other signatories of the document.

The professional associations of Dentists, Nutritionists, Psychologists, Nurses, Pharmacists, Biologists, the National Federation of Chronic Disease Associations, the Health XXI Forum, Health Cluster Portugal, the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, the University Institute of Health Sciences, the Portuguese Society for Health Literacy and the Packaging and Medicine Waste Management Society also subscribe to the document, among others.