Cardiff Council Leader Rodney Berman has been invited by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to attend a Global Forum on Urbanisation and Health in Kobe, Japan.
He will be accompanied by the council’s Chief Executive Jon House who will be using the opportunity to see first hand the problems of social deprivation and inequality facing cities like Cardiff and how they can be tackled.
Cardiff has an estimated 60,000 people living in deprivation, with a shocking 11.6 years gap in life expectancy between different geographical areas of Cardiff.
Cardiff achieved Healthy City status and membership of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network in October 2009.
Healthy Cities is an important movement in the quest to reduce health inequalities and the forum will bring together leaders from national and municipal governments, academia, media, and non-governmental organizations to share experiences, commit to action, and implement measures that will reduce health inequities in cities.
The conference will consider a number of topics pertinent to Cardiff such as “urban health challenges”, “unmasking inequalities in cities”, “addressing urban environmental health threats and climate change” and “cleaner and greener: improving urban structures and services”. Attendees will be asked to endorse a “Call for Action” which will highlight a clear way forward for sustainable actions to deal with health inequalities.
Councillor Berman will be one of a group of political leaders representing the European region of Healthy Cities for WHO at the forum.
He said: “This conference will be enable us to gain ideas from across the world on how health and life chances can be improved. Like all cities, Cardiff has problems which the Council is keen to address. The forum is going to be an excellent opportunity for myself and the Chief Executive to hear different views, share information and most importantly bring back to Cardiff real life experiences on how issues of deprivation and inequality can be tackled.
“It is shocking to note that for that the life expectancy of Cardiff’s residents can vary by as much as 11.6 years between the most deprived and most affluent parts of the city. Being part of the World Health Organisation’s Healthy Cities programme is about finding ways for us to address that, and it is important for us to learn from the experience of others in identifying the best ways to do so.
“We will also use the opportunity of attending this forum to raise the profile of Cardiff across the international stage of the World Health Organization.”
Mr House said: “I have made it clear that, working with the Leader, my aim is to make Cardiff the best European city council by 2015. Reducing health inequities in the city is a massive challenge and it should not be the case that good health and opportunity is enhanced by where somebody lives.
“This forum will give myself and the Leader the opportunity to hear how other cities are setting policies to try and improve health equity in urban settings and I want to learn how cities can be modified, enhanced and transformed to create healthier environments.”
The forum will look at issues such as how urban health development has to be protected from risks arising from factors such as rapid, unplanned urbanisation, environmental change including climate change, disease outbreaks, disasters, demographic change including ageing and technological change.
Dr Sharon Hopkins, Executive Director of Public Health for the Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board, welcomed the fact that both the Chief Executive and Council Leader were attending this forum.
Dr Hopkins said: “This visit will be critical in helping to look at developing ways we can decrease the inequalities in life expectancy we have in different parts of the city which is currently around 12 years. It will be very beneficial to learn how other cities are coping with these issues and looking at examples of best practice.
“Part of the Healthy Cities focus is on obesity and with around 53 per cent of our population being classified as obese, this visit will be extremely helpful for designing our city in ways that can assist in decreasing obesity levels.”
