Didier

29
Sep
2026
WHO launches new e-learning course on behavioural sciences for better health

WHO launches new e-learning course on behavioural sciences for better health

Source: who.int

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new self-paced online course, Behavioural Sciences for Better Health: An Interactive Course for Public Health Practitioners, available through the WHO Academy.                     

The course was developed to strengthen understanding and application of behavioural sciences in public health. It provides learners with practical knowledge and skills to identify the factors that influence health-related behaviours and to design more effective interventions, programmes and policies. 

Behavioural sciences: understanding why people behave as they do

Human behaviours sit at the heart of many of today’s most pressing health challenges, including vaccine uptake, antimicrobial resistance, physical activity, maternal and child health, and climate-related health risks, among others. While evidence-based interventions are essential to the achievement of better health outcomes, their effectiveness ultimately depends on whether people can adopt and sustain healthy behaviours. 

Behavioural sciences offer systematic approaches to understanding why people behave as they do. By examining psychological, cognitive, social, cultural and environmental influences on behaviours, public health practitioners can design interventions that are more responsive to people’s lived experiences and contexts, and therefore more likely to achieve meaningful outcomes.  

The new e-learning course at a glance  

The course introduces learners to key behavioural sciences concepts and demonstrates how behavioural insights can be integrated into public health work. Through interactive exercises, case studies and guided learning activities, participants explore practical approaches for identifying behavioural barriers and enablers and applying behavioural data and evidence to programme design, implementation and evaluation. 

A central feature of the course is WHO’s DDDIE framework (define, diagnose, design, implement and evaluate), which provides a structured process for generating and applying behavioural insights in public health programmes and policies. The framework supports practitioners in moving from identifying a behavioural challenge to developing, implementing and evaluating interventions informed by behavioural data and evidence. 

The course consists of nine modules and a final assessment and can be completed online in approximately five hours. No prior expertise in behavioural sciences is required. Participants who successfully complete the course assessment receive a WHO Academy award of completion. 

The learning programme forms part of WHO’s ongoing efforts to support implementation of World Health Assembly resolution WHA76.7 on Behavioural Sciences for Better Health. It complements a growing suite of WHO tools and resources designed to strengthen behavioural sciences capacity within public health institutions, including a tool to assess the Mainstreaming behavioural sciences into institutions responsible for public health: monitoring framework and indicators, the Decision support tool for establishing a behavioural insights function, and the Behavioural insights glossary for public health practitioners.   

Who this course is for

The course is designed for a broad audience, including public health practitioners, ministry of health staff, WHO personnel at national, regional and global levels, United Nations partners, non-governmental organizations, humanitarian actors, programme managers and policy advisers. By building foundational behavioural sciences knowledge and skills across sectors and disciplines, the course aims to support more effective public health action and contribute to improved health outcomes. 

For more information visit the WHO Academy website. 

Enroll in the course.

BI CourseTélécharger
Posted by Didier in News
29
Sep
2026
Promoting health in schools: taking action across the whole school environment to improve pupils’ health literacy

Promoting health in schools: taking action across the whole school environment to improve pupils’ health literacy

A new study published in Health Promotion International highlights the importance of comprehensive health promotion policies in schools for developing pupils’ health literacy – that is, their ability to find, understand, evaluate and use information to make decisions that are beneficial to their health.

The article, ‘The settings approach to health promotion in schools: examining the role of school policies in fostering student health literacy’, is based on data collected from 46 primary schools, involving 2,325 pupils, 552 teachers and 46 headteachers.

Health literacy is not developed solely in the classroom

The study shows that pupils’ health literacy is the result of a combination of individual, family, social and school-related factors. The socio-economic context remains significant: the mother’s level of education and the proportion of pupils receiving subsidised meals are, in particular, associated with the level of health literacy. However, the results also show that schools have their own levers of influence that they can utilise.

Pupils attending schools that implement the most comprehensive and integrated health promotion policies are more likely to have a high level of health literacy. This holistic approach does not rely on a single isolated initiative or programme. It incorporates various aspects of school life: the organisation and management of the school, teaching and learning, the physical and social environment, the involvement of pupils and staff, relationships with families and the community, and access to health and social services.

Other factors also appear to be key: collaboration with parents, teacher training in health promotion and teachers’ own levels of well-being are all associated, regardless of socio-economic factors, with better health literacy amongst pupils.

Moving from isolated measures to a coherent school policy

These findings support the so-called ‘settings approach’, which underpins the health-promoting schools model. It is no longer simply a matter of offering pupils specific health education lessons, but of creating an environment in which health is integrated into the day-to-day activities of the school.

One of the key findings of the study is therefore that the quality, consistency and degree of integration of the policy implemented matter. A health promotion policy cannot be viewed simply as an intervention that is either present or absent: the way in which its various dimensions are interlinked appears to play a role in the skills developed by pupils.

Collaboration with families also becomes meaningful when it forms part of this overarching strategy: the results suggest that an isolated partnership initiative is less likely to have an impact than a coherent approach across the whole school.

Supporting teachers: a key factor in pupils’ health

The study also reveals a particularly important finding concerning education professionals. Teachers’ training and well-being are not merely professional issues: they contribute to the conditions that enable pupils to develop their health literacy.

Analyses show that pupils whose teachers are better trained in health promotion and report higher levels of well-being are more likely to demonstrate high levels of health literacy.

This finding suggests that teachers should be considered key players within the school ecosystem. An ambitious policy to promote pupils’ health therefore also requires providing professionals with the skills, resources and working conditions necessary to take action.

A key challenge: tackling health inequalities from early childhood

Social inequalities continue to have a significant impact on children’s health literacy. However, the study shows that school policy features and teachers’ resources remain associated with health literacy even after taking these socio-economic differences into account.

Comprehensive whole-school approaches could therefore help to mitigate the effects of social inequalities on health literacy. Analysis of the different school profiles confirms, in particular, that it is not a single factor that makes the difference, but the combination of social context, health promotion policies, teacher training and professional well-being. Developing children’s health literacy involves creating school environments that effectively empower them to understand, evaluate and apply this knowledge in their lives.

The study thus provides new arguments in favour of sustained investment in health-promoting schools, in the professional development of teaching staff, and in their well-being. It also calls for further longitudinal research to better measure, over time, the effects of changes in school policies on pupils’ health literacy, health and educational pathways.

Reference
Didier Jourdan, Ting-Ya Kuo, Min-Chien Tsai, Fu-Li Chen, The settings approach to health promotion in schools: examining the role of school policies in fostering student health literacy, Health Promotion International, Volume 41, Issue 5, October 2026, daag129, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daag129

Posted by Didier in News
29
Sep
2026
Strengthening Health Promotion Competencies in Adolescent Well-being Centres in Greece

Strengthening Health Promotion Competencies in Adolescent Well-being Centres in Greece

A group of professionals in Northern Greece, Thessaloniki, successfully completed a training and is ready to start the function of a youth friendly adolescent well-being centre in collaboration with the First Department of Pediatrics of the Aristotle University (Chair: Professor Dimitrios Zafeiriou, Scientific Head: Professor Ahanassios Christoforidis).   

A framework-based approach to adolescent well-being

The development of adolescent well-being centres in Greece is taking place within the framework of the national network of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education in Greece and in collaboration with institutional and scientific partners. It is grounded in the WHO Competency and Outcomes Framework for Adolescent Health and Well-being, the WHO Global Competency and Outcomes Framework for Universal Health Coverage, and the WHO European Region Strategy for Child and Adolescent Health and Well-being 2026–2030.

The Ross et al. adolescent well-being framework provides the background for understanding young people’s needs. It defines well-being as adolescents having the support, confidence and resources to thrive in secure and healthy relationships, realising their full potential and rights. It brings together five interconnected domains: good health and optimum nutrition; connectedness, positive values and contribution to society; safety and a supportive environment; learning, competence, education, skills and employability; and agency and resilience.

The programme therefore adopts a health-promotion perspective: it supports young people’s capacities and agency while improving the social, educational, family, community, service and digital environments that shape their opportunities for health and well-being.

Meeting adolescents’ needs

The adolescent well-being services for children and adolescents address all needs related to somatic, psychosocial and school health, and promote healthy choices and disease prevention. Social emotional empowerment, dgital education and social skills protocols are implemented creating a “HUG”.

This initiative is very crucial, given the special needs of adolescents and data indicating a significant rise in morbidity and high risk behaviors in both natural and digital environments. The UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education adolescent well-being services aim to support the healthy safe development of all children and adolescents in Greece.

Affiliated researcher and National Representative of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Edcuation in Greece, Artemis K. Tsitsika, is the President of the Greek Society for Adolescent Medicine and Scientific Head of the adolescent well-being centre in Athens in collaboration with the Second Department of the National and Kapodistrian of Athens (Chair : Professor Theoklis Zaoutis).

Posted by Didier in News
29
Sep
2026
New Whole Child Model Brief

New Whole Child Model Brief

he New Whole Child Model (NWCM) offers a renewed framework for holistic education, building on the foundations of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) approach to meet the realities of today’s learners. Developed in partnership with EDLINKS, the NWCM brings together resilience theory, social-emotional development, and leadership practice into a single, actionable model for schools and systems.

This brief outlines the model’s core components and its relevance to global education priorities, including UNESCO’s commitment to inclusive, learner-centered systems. It presents an approach that districts and ministries can adapt to strengthen both individual student wellbeing and broader school community resilience.

We welcome the opportunity to share this work with UNESCO and explore how the NWCM might support ongoing efforts to advance whole-child education worldwide.

Download the brief at www.edlinks.com/whole-child-brief

For more information, contact Sean Slade Consultancy at s.slade@edlinks.com

Watch the video below in which Sean Slade introduces the model.

Posted by Didier in News
29
Sep
2026
6th edition Global Community Health Workshop – resources available

6th edition Global Community Health Workshop – resources available

The 6th edition of the Global Community Health Workshop, held in June 2026, was a great success. This year’s workshop theme was ‘Connecting planetary health, climate justice, and community health: from knowledge to impact’.

This year’s workshop invited participants to explore the links between planetary health and community health and wellbeing. We looked into mobilizing communities, including the involvement of young people, as agents of change, ensuring that climate solutions are just, accessible, and impactful taking into account indigenous perspectives. By bridging knowledge with action, we inspired collaborative strategies that address the root causes of environmental degradation while fostering healthier, more resilient communities. The workshop was organised in collaboration with the University of Clermont Auvergne, University of Huddersfield, EHESP School of Public Health, International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), Réseau Francophone International Pour la Promotion de la Sante (RÉFIPS), European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht.

All presentations and recordings of the lectures are available on our website as well as recommended readings from the speakers.

Early 2027 the theme and dates of the 7th edition of the Global Community Health Workshop will be announced.

Posted by Didier in News
06
Jul
2026
Release of a new UNESCO report on the effects of school-based sexuality education 

Release of a new UNESCO report on the effects of school-based sexuality education 

Comprehensive sexuality education, known by different names across countries, is one of the most effective ways to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to build respectful relationships, make informed decisions about their health and well-being, and protect their rights. Yet evidence on what learners actually gain from national programmes, and on the conditions that make them work, remains uneven across countries. 

To help close this gap, UNESCO’s new report, Learning about healthy relationships: Effects of school-based sexuality education, looked at the outcomes in five settings: Armenia, the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, Lao PDR, Lagos State in Nigeria and Namibia. Across these settings, learners who received comprehensive, rights-based sexuality education describe more positive relationships, greater self-confidence and a stronger sense of inclusion. The report also highlights the institutional and pedagogical conditions that enable or constrain these outcomes. 

This webinar will mark the public release of the report. It will bring together government partners, UN agencies, civil society organisations, youth networks, researchers and donors to discuss what the evidence shows about effective national sexuality education programmes, and how the findings can inform policy and practice at country, regional and global levels.  

Interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish 

Posted by Didier in News
02
Jun
2026
Global Community Health Annual Workshop 2026 – Confirmed speakers

Global Community Health Annual Workshop 2026 – Confirmed speakers

The sixth edition of the Global Community Health Annual Workshop will take place online on 9, 10 and 11 June 2026.

The health of Mother Earth is inextricably linked to human health and wellbeing. Climate change impacts vulnerable communities the most. It deepens inequalities and threatens both environmental and human health. These challenges also offer opportunities for collective action on the local level, innovation, and climate justice.

This year’s workshop, ‘Connecting planetary health, climate justice, and community health: from knowledge to impact’, invites participants to explore the links between planetary health and community health and wellbeing. We will look into mobilizing communities, including the involvement of young people, as agents of change, ensuring that climate solutions are just, accessible, and impactful taking into account indigenous perspectives. By bridging knowledge with action, we aim to inspire collaborative strategies that address the root causes of environmental degradation while fostering healthier, more resilient communities.

Audience

The Global Community Health Annual Workshop provides a space where community health practitioners, activists, policy makers, and researchers can learn and improve their skills. In 2025 over 500 participants from all regions of the world participated.

Speakers

We are honoured to have excellent contributors from all over the world. A preview of the contributors:

  • Eliana Martínez Herrera – Lecturer and researcher at the National School of Public Health, University of Antioquia, Colombia
  • Mélanie Boivin – Executive Director Centres Mamik, Québec, Canada
  • Prof. Richard Osborne – Distinguished Professor of Global Health and Equity, Global Health and Equity Development Hub, La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Australia
  • Dr. Rudolf Abugnaba-Abanga – Research Fellow in Planetary Health, WAC-SRT, University of Business and Integrated Studies, Ghana, and University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
  • Sarah Michaud – Promote Health Now Association, Morocco
  • Adil Mansouri – Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Morocco
  • Mary Ann Manahan – PhD Fellow, Conflict Research Group, Department of Conflict and Development Studies, Ghent University, Belgium
  • Christelle Eugénie Gnimassou – Founding president of the NGO Triomphe de l’Intérieur, Benin
  • Mafoko Phomane – Environmental Health Campaigner, groundWork, Friends of the Earth, South Africa

Format of the workshop

The online workshop will take place on 3 consecutive days, 3½ contact hours per day. To accommodate participants from all different time zones, the workshop will be offered twice a day.

  • Block 1 will run from 10.00 – 13.30 Paris; 16.00 – 19.30 Beijing; 18.00 – 21.30 Melbourne.
  • Block 2 will run from 16.00 – 19.30 Paris; 7.00 – 10.30 Los Angeles; 11.00 – 14.30 Buenos Aires

The workshop uses an interactive format ensuring active participation through a series of online lectures, combined with community heath hubs.

Community health hubs

The community health hubs (working groups) are offered in different languages including English, French, Spanish and possibly other languages. During the community health hubs participants can share experiences, build their regional and global networks and work on their individual assignments.

We encourage participants to gather locally and organise their own local community health hubs. They can follow the central lectures online together and then continue their discussions live in the local community health hubs.

Assignment

Participants can submit an individual assignment on their learnings of the workshop. Each assignment will be assessed and can be published on the Chair website, for future reference. After approval of the assignment participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Language

The online lectures are held in English, French or Spanish. For translation into 50+ languages, including English, French, Spanish, Persian, Arabic and Chinese, we use an AI based translation app.

Registration free of charge

The Community Health Workshop will take place online and is free of charge. Practitioners, students, activists, policy makers and researchers from different backgrounds from all over the world are welcome to join. Participants need to register using the online registration form. Registration will close on Thursday 4 June 2026, 16.00 CEST.

Organisers

Organisers are the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, University of Clermont Auvergne, University of Huddersfield, EHESP School of Public Health, International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), Réseau Francophone International Pour la Promotion de la Sante (RÉFIPS), European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht.

More information

For more information about the workshop, please visit the dedicated webpage.

Posted by Didier in News
20
May
2026
Health promotion and prevention in the digital era: from challenges to solutions

Health promotion and prevention in the digital era: from challenges to solutions

EuroHealthNet Annual Seminar 2026

Date and time: Monday, 1 June 2026, 13:30 to 17:00 CEST
Location: National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, 24 Chocimska Street, 00791 Warsaw, and online
Attendance: in-person or via livestream

The rapid advance of digital technologies and the acceleration of artificial intelligence is reshaping societies in profound ways, with far-reaching implications for health and wellbeing. This digital transformation is a key determinant of health, as it interacts with the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. 

This raises a critical question: how can we ensure that the digital and AI transformation advances health equity and wellbeing, rather than amplifying existing gaps and barriers or even becoming a threat to health? 

Marking the 40th anniversary of the WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, EuroHealthNet’s Annual Seminar 2026 on ‘Health promotion in the digital era’ will explore this question by examining strategic considerations and promising initiatives to strengthening health promotion and prevention in the digital era.

Speakers include:

  • Katarzyna Kacperczyk, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Poland
  • Kremlin Wickramasinghe, Regional Advisor, ‘Prevention and Health Promotion Division’ at WHO/Europe
  • Michele Cecchini, Responsible for the programme of work on Public Health at OECD 
  • Marta Puciłowska-Schielmann, Vice-President of the Instytut Cyfrowego Obywatelstwa (Institute of Digital Citizenship) 
  • Kerian Berose-Perez, Responsible for ‘Mental health and protection against the harmful effects of exposure to screens’ at the French Ministry of Health

…and many more leading experts in public health, research, and policy.

Register to follow the livestream

Register interest for in-person participation

The event is kindly hosted by the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene

Posted by Didier in News
19
May
2026
Brazil as a reference for school health promotion? A seminar series at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo

Brazil as a reference for school health promotion? A seminar series at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo

A seminar series titled “Brazil as a reference? School health promotion in Brazil in a global perspective” will take place during Didier Jourdan’s stay as a visiting professor at the School of Public Health at the University of São Paulo (USP). The series will highlight Brazil’s expertise in school health promotion. Drawing on diverse initiatives implemented across the country, Didier Jourdan will examine how these experiences contribute to global discussions on policies, practices, and frameworks for promoting health in schools.

The seminars will address, in particular, forms of governance, student participation, intersectoral work and links with primary health care. They will also focus on implementation strategies across different territories, taking into account regional diversity, social vulnerabilities and contexts marked by high levels of inequality. Particular attention will be paid to political, institutional and pedagogical barriers, as well as to the levers that can help make schools spaces of rights, well-being and equity. Finally, the seminar series will examine the potential of the Brazilian experience to inform global research agendas, public policy-making and international standards for health-promoting schools.

This programme forms part of a broader initiative in international academic cooperation, with a view to collaborative research and publication within the framework of the UNESCO Chair and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health & Education.

The seminars are intended for academics, students, researchers and professionals in the fields of health, education and public policy.

Dates: 20 May, 27 May, 3 June, 10 June and 24 June 2026
Time: 11:00–12:30, São Paulo time (GMT-3)
Format: hybrid — on-site at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, and online
Language: Portuguese, with simultaneous interpretation into English and French

Unique link to the seminars: https://y.uca.fr/link-seminario

Posted by Didier in News
14
Apr
2026
Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, Lyon, 7–9 April 2026

Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, Lyon, 7–9 April 2026

From 7 to 9 April 2026, Lyon hosted the first Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, with the theme ‘Collaborating for a Healthier Future’, alongside the One Health Summit 2026 and bringing together global experts from hundreds of institutions designated as WHO Collaborating Centres across more than 80 countries. This Forum aims to strengthen the scientific and technical contribution of these centres to the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14) and the “Health for All” agenda.

During a session dedicated to the role of Collaborating Centres, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, and Didier Jourdan, Head of the FR-135 Collaborating Centre and holder of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, spoke jointly. Hans Kluge set out the strategic framework for the European Region, emphasising the need for strong networks of Collaborating Centres to support countries in the context of multiple crises.

Didier Jourdan illustrated this framework based on the experience of WHO Collaborating Centres, highlighting three key developments for the network:

  • moving from scattered initiatives to genuine work programmes aligned with EPW2 and GPW 14;
  • strengthening links with the WHO Academy to roll out evidence-based training on a large scale; and
  • using health education and literacy as a structural response to the crisis of mistrust in science and institutions.

Together, they championed the idea of Collaborating Centres conceived not only as ‘centres of excellence’, but as interconnected ‘centres of capacity’, serving education systems, health professionals and communities.

Read the presentation of Professor Didier Jourdan

Posted by Didier in News