The Challenge

The Challenge

“South Australia has the potential to become a global leader and innovator in health and wellbeing”, Professor Ilona Kickbusch

The focus of Ilona Kickbusch’s residency was to look at health in new ways, recognising that it impacts on all our decisions and actions. Growth, productivity, wealth and quality of life all depend upon and are determined by good health.

Ilona increased awareness and understanding among government, non-government, business and community stakeholders in South Australia, of the importance of addressing the social and economic determinants of health, wellbeing and health inequities, and the need for interconnected action and policy making for public health. 

Ilona recognised the advantage that SA had in its State Strategic Plan, which recognises that core social concerns such as safety, wellbeing, sustainability, innovation and expanding opportunity,  need action and planning across the different government agency silos, which need to work together to achieve very specific targets.

In her final report Healthy Societies: Addressing 21st Century Health Challenges, Ilona set out a comprehensive approach for health, wellbeing and opportunity for South Australians, with key recommendations under three guiding principles: 

  • Health in All Policies - embedding health as a central concern for all policy making. Ilona cast a ‘health lens’ over targets in South Australia’s Strategic Plan, leading to the development of a Health in All Policies process – a process now receiving international attention as an exemplary model for cross-sector work in tackling the challenges of population health in the 21st century. 
  • Health Sustainability - concentrating on the health of the next generation of South Australians by addressing obesity 
  • Health Equity - giving priority to removing the social differences in health by improving health literacy and enabling individuals to navigate the increasingly complicated choices and systems they need to improve and maintain their health.

Ilona Kickbusch was in residence in February/March and October/November 2007.