Discovering The Health Promotion Fund

Find out what a health promotion fund really is, and why it is a critical component of public health.

What is a health promotion fund

A health promotion fund is an investment for any country towards safeguarding the health and well-being of their population. With non-communicable diseases (NCD) escalating globally resulting in deaths and disability, countries are shouldering ever-increasing healthcare costs. Health promotion programmes help reduce the burden of NCDs and mitigate the corresponding economic and social burdens. These programmes require sustainable funding allocated via a dedicated health promotion fund.

Why are health promotion funds so important?

Establishing a sustainable health promotion funding mechanism is the most cost-effective way to generate a reliable long-term funding stream for promoting and improving population health.

  • Limited budgets for health promotion and tobacco control, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
  • To diminish health, social and economic costs from non-communicable diseases
  • Securing long-term investment for improving health
  • To supplement health insurance or universal health care policy
  • Funding a range of health-related initiatives
  • Making the polluter pays
  • International obligations: WHO FCTC/UN Declaration/SDGs