BELGRADE
- HEALTHY CITY PROJECT
EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT
''To make the vision of a healthy city a reality takes courage, political commitment and openness to innovation and experimentation. Building working alliances for public health, negotiating new resources for health promotion and setting up the organizational requirements for the project can be a time consuming and frustrating process.''.
World Health Organization - WHO, Copenhagen
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The first initiative for
including Yugoslav cities in the world Healthy Cities Project that is for
forming a national network was made in 1996. A meeting of experts called by
the Federal Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Policy marked World Health
Day by dealing with the subject of Healthy Cities for a Better Life. The
Secretariat for Health, in cooperation with the Institute for Public Health of
Belgrade, submitted a paper titled Belgrade Healthy City - 2000. The
initiative was not implemented.
In 1998 the Secretariat for Health begins to implement the first steps of Phase 1 of the Project. Implementation was done according to WHO instructions and effected in the following manner:
Step 1: Forming a Support Group
A support group for the project was formed. At the first meeting, the group included 34 institutions, represented by one or two experts each. Later, a wider circle of institutions joined the support group, bringing the number of institutions involved to 109 by 2001.
All the documents recommended by the WHO for an understanding of this international Project were studied. The Secretariat for Health held a seminar on the aims, principles and organization of the Project. The instructors were experts from the Institute for Public Health of Belgrade. Attendance was had by some 100 people from various institutions. The Institute for Public Health conducted an assessment of comprehension by calling for proposals for possible activities in various sectors, based on instructions (on the form of the proposals) arrived at a separate meeting held after the seminar.
All relevant documents needed for a detailed understanding of Belgrade were analyzed, as were the various health programs being implemented. The results of the analysis were published as a monograph titled Program-based Health Care (Institute for Public Health of Belgrade, Belgrade, 1998). In addition to the analysis of existing programs, the monograph gives short presentation of new WHO strategic documents (Health for All in the 21st Century, New Public Health, Campaign for Healthy and Sustainable Cities and Places, etc.). Also, new approaches to public health programs were initiated (Integrating Multisectoral Programs of New Public Health in the 21st Century).
The Secretariat for Health initiated a procedure for having the financing included in the city budget; in all European cities, in the initial development phases financing was provided by city governments, with the mayor or president of the city assembly generally being the sponsor of the Project.
A proposal was prepared for the City Assembly for the Project to be carried, on behalf of the city, by the Secretariat for Health and Secretariat for Environment, and for the technical coordinator to be the Institute for Public Health of Belgrade.
The Secretariat for Health has prepared an initial document for the City Assembly titled Concept of Belgrade - Healthy City, which proposes that Belgrade join the WHO Healthy Cities Project.
The City Assembly adopted the Concept of Belgrade - Healthy City, accepted the initiative for Belgrade to join the world Healthy Cities Project. City Assembly appointed the Secretariat for Health and the Secretariat for Environment as Project executors, and the Executive Council (City Government) appointed the Institute for Public Health of Belgrade as the technical coordinator.
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Step 1: Appointing Committee
The Secretariat for Health, in cooperation with the Secretariat for Environment and the Institute for Public Health of Belgrade, has prepared a proposal for the appointment of the Project Organizing Committee, and the City Assembly has approved its constitution. In accordance with WHO documents, the Organizing Committee is the connection between the Project and the city government, as well as being the connection with the national government. The Committee's basic function is to manage the development of the Project.
The Project Teams with both Secretariats and the Institute for Public Health were appointed during step 1.
Step 2: Analyzing the Environment
As the technical coordinator, the Institute for Public Health has conducted an analysis of the environment, defining and documenting the city's health profile. Defining the health profile was done according to WHO methodology, by processing indicators and time-series data. Document titled "City Health Profile of Belgrade" was prepared by Institute for Public Health of Belgrade. The monograph "Urban Environment and Health - Health and Environmental Profile of Belgrade" (Institute for Public Health of Belgrade, Belgrade, 2000) was published, which focused on comprehension of the idea, methodology and aims underlying the creation of the health profile and the Project's Strategic Plan of Activities.
Look at some illustrations of defining health and environmental profile .
The Institute for public health, in cooperation with the Secretariats of Health and the Environment, has prepared document titled "Belgrade - Healthy City Project Task", which was reviewed and adopted by the Project Organizing Committee and the Executive Council of the City Assembly.
The location of the Project Office was selected at the Secretariat for Health, which has provided separate rooms. The Institute for Public Health has selected a part of its Project Team to work in the Office together with a part of the Project Team of the Secretariat for Health. The Institute for Public Health has provided the equipment (computers, telephone, fax machine) and furniture needed. Also, Institute provided Internet access and domain name (www.beozdravgrad.org), and Institutes team created Web Site of the Project.
The key document of this phase is the Project Strategic Plan. It was prepared by the Institute for Public Health in cooperation with the Secretariats of Health and the Environment. The Strategic Plan of Activities and the City Health Profile of Belgrade, together with a letter of intention (application letter), constitute the application documents, which are to be forwarded to the WHO’s Center for Urban Health and the EURONET association further to Belgrade’s bid for the appellation of Healthy City.
The Belgrade City Assembly will provide in its 2002 budget for the financing of Phase 3, and additional sources of financing will be secured for the following years. Other capacities – equipment, office staff – have been provided as needed for the initial steps of Phase 3.
In October of 2001, the City Assembly formed a new Project Organizing Committee in response to the political changes that occurred in Yugoslavia, which resulted in changes to the structure of government and responsibility at all levels, including Belgrade.
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Cities can join Phase 3 of the development of the European network of Healthy
Cities after completing the first two phases. However, we implemented some
actions, during work on the previous two phases of the Health Cities Project.
''Projects do not evolve in a continuous, systematic way. They are experimental and grow by trial and error. Sometimes they develop rapidly and at other times they grow slowly because conditions are complex and contradictory. Each Healthy Cities project must find its way through the maze of changing circumstances in which it works.''
World Health Organization - WHO, Copenhagen
The following activities were carried out:
In the period
1998 to 2000, information was made increasingly available to the media, as
it was to technical/scientific gatherings.
2. In 1998, cooperation was established between the Belgrade - Healthy City Project and the World Solar Program (1996-2000) by way of the Yugoslav project National Network for Transfer of Information & Technology on Renewable Energy Sources - For Sustainable Development and Health for All. This project was given high priority in the World Solar Program. The programs of the international workshops are presented at www.rcub.bg.ac.yu/~todorom . In 2000, a separate section was dedicated to healthy cities. (Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resources of the Faculty of Agriculture and the Project Team of the Institute for public health.)
The 30th International Congress on Heating, Cooling and Air-Conditioning, held in 1999, dealt with a healthy and clean Belgrade. (Alliance of Engineers and Technologists of Serbia and the Belgrade - Healthy City Project Team.).
4. At the end of 1999, Belgrade was included in the international thematic network Urban Climate Net, a project where cities cooperate in research and standardization of the foundations for urban planning. The network's website is: www.urbanclimate.net or www.stadklima.de .
In 2000, an initial document for a Local Agenda 21 for Belgrade was prepared. (Belgrade Society of Urban Planners and the Belgrade - Healthy City Project Team.) However, the agenda was not drafted.
Cooperation was
established between Athens and Belgrade on the scientific/technical project
Assessment and Comparison of Air Quality in Athens and Belgrade, the aim of
which is to improve monitoring and early-warning systems in urban and/or
industrial environments by use of data from the LANDSAT satellite. The
project was adopted at a session of the Yugoslav-Greek Joint Commission for
Scientific and Technological Cooperation (Athens, 2001), and will be
implemented in the period 2001-2003. The implementation of a developed model
is planned for Belgrade and Athens, and other cities, in 2003. The model
will be forwarded to the European Commission as a proposal for standards for
European cities. (Kirilo Savic Institute and the Institute for public
health.)
REALIZED
AND PLANED JOINING OF BELGRADE
IN INTERACTIVE NETWORKS OF HEALTHY CITIES
Last update: 27. December 2001.