Polisi a iechyd rhyngwladol

The Policy and International Health Directorate within Public Health Wales advocate, enable and mobilise to help shape policy and practice to improve and protect health and wellbeing and reduce health inequities in Wales and beyond.

Working across the organisation and with our partners, we help ensure Public Health Wales is at the forefront of leadership and advocacy, evidence for action, as well as providing direct public health support for stakeholders to improve the effectiveness and quality of public health activities across Wales and further afield. We support staff and the wider public health system to gain the knowledge, understanding and skills through capability and capacity building, and use the opportunities available to apply the most up-to-date evidence and best practices in order to inform decision making. We aim to ensure that local, national and international learning from policies, research and practices are brought together to support the broader organisation and our partners in Wales.

Within that, the International Health Team serves as a bridge between global health research, policy, and Wales’ public health system. It draws in evidence, best practices, and innovation from international partners and adapts them to support health equity, resilience, and impact within Wales.

The Policy and International Health Directorate was designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on ‘Investment for Health and Well-being’ in March 2018, and was re-designated for a further 4 years in March 2022. Over a 4-year programme of work, the WHO Collaborating Centre will develop, collect and share information and tools on how best to invest in better health, reduce inequalities, build stronger communities and resilient systems in Wales, Europe and worldwide. The WHO Collaborating Centre will inform and promote more sustainable policies, embrace the principles of human rights, equity and evidence based interventions; and help address the health and well-being needs of current and future generations. Read more about the work carried out by the WHO Collaborating Centre.

Key focus areas and functions include:

• Facilitating international partnerships and collaboration, including through the International Health Coordination Centre (IHCC) which brings together NHS Wales organisations to share, network, and coordinate global health activity.
• Producing horizon scanning, evidence synthesis, and learning reports to inform public health responses, policies, and investments.
• Leading and supporting programmes around health equity, investment for health, and sustainable public health systems, ensuring Wales is a locus for innovation and good practice.
• Acting as an advocate and convenor within Wales and beyond — bridging national, UK and international partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), EuroHealthNet, and others.
• Supporting capacity building across the public health system by helping stakeholders apply modern evidence, tools, and methodologies.

Programme of work

The Policy and International Health Directorate’s programme of work covers many topic areas including; Adverse childhood experiences, Behavioural science, Climate change and sustainability, Covid -19, Health economics and social value, Heath Impact Assessment, International health, Policy, Solutions for health equity and Time to Talk Public Health.

Research

They directorate also engages in collaborative research to create greater opportunities for developing knowledge, evaluating practice, informing policy and building public health capacity. You can read more about this public health research collaboration here.

COVID-19

The harms caused by COVID-19 to health and wellbeing, society and the economy were severe and ongoing. Our response to the pandemic is necessarily focusing on mitigating negative impacts and preventing new harms wherever possible.

During the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, it was clear that such dramatic changes to people’s live would have profound repercussions for their immediate and long term mental and physical health. We required new information on how people were coping with greater isolation, restrictions on their movements and less access to services. We needed to understand how other countries were coping with new ways of living and working, learn from them and help them learn from us. Furthermore, although the pandemic was the predominant concern for people and public health professionals, we still needed to ensure that other existing and potential threats to people’s health were monitored, assessed, and addressed as the pandemic progressed. The Policy and International Health Directorate focused on informing policy options for an optimum balance between virus control measures and the potential negative impacts of COVID-19.

You may be interested in reading the reports produced about international health insights or in accessing the public engagement surveys on health and wellbeing during coronavirus measures.

Further information

For further reading and supporting information you can view all reference materials here.