31-10-16 Nikos Filis addresses Public Health and Social Medicine Forum
Addressing the 6th Forum of Public Health and Social Medicine, Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Nikos Filis underlined that “through coordinated activities and programmes, the educational system is preparing tomorrow’s responsible citizens, sensitising them to issues of individual and public health.”
“Both in basic courses as well as in the hours of activities and flexible learning zones, students are trained in issues regarding hygienic practices and learn to respect and protect the environment, the quality of which impacts on health. In the process, they learn to make athletics a way of life,” Filis said.
“For the time being, schools are the place where equality in health is implemented. All children must be vaccinated in order to register, and all children are equal and participate in programmes and courses regarding health issues,” he noted.
The full text of Nikos Filis remarks follows:
Social Inequalities and Public Health
Dear conferees, ladies and gentlemen,
Schooling on health issues and preventive medicine constitutes an important part of the educational systems of all civilised countries, including Greece. Through organised activities and programmes, the educational system prepares tomorrow’s responsible citizens, sensitising them to issues of individual and public health issues.
To this end, programmes, activities and campaigns are organised to allow students to improve the level of their health.
Both in basic courses as well as in the hours of activities and flexible learning zones, students are trained in issues pertaining to hygienic practices and learn to respect and protect the environment, the quality of which impacts on health, while learning to make athletics a way of life,” Filis said.
Gymnastics and athletic training at schools, along with suitable information and the encyclical for approved products available at snack bars, are today the pillars of a coordinated effort to address the epidemic of obesity.
Can we bear the cost of programmes of Public Health and Social Medicine in an era of economic crisis? Let us call to mind the history of planning public health programmes in Greece – when, how and why they were created. One must recall that our public health programmes were not designed in a time of prosperity, and they were not implemented despite the crisis, but because of it.
It was in the difficult inter-war period, with refugees, widespread poverty, huge social inequalities, and the absence of social insurance, which rendered urgent the need to plan and implement these programmes, both in Public Health and Social Insurance.
In both, Greek and foreign scientists cooperated closely under the aegis of the League of Nations.
Both demanded a serious education of the population. Particularly in public health, systematic work was required in schools at all levels, workplaces, and newspapers – places where the people could be informed. How else could one effect the transition from treating illness to prevention? These were reforms that met with resistance. Many considered them an unnecessary luxury, and others protested because decades-long interests were harmed.
The reforms, however, passed, not by coercion, but because they addressed real and pressing problems of the time. That was the key. These were not regulative changes, but rather bold reforms with a vision of a society that could survive in conditions that had changed dramatically. It was this spirit that ingrained the reforms in the consciousness of society.
We have come a long way since then. No one any longer disputes the need for public health and social insurance (which were from the start the two sides of the same plan).
However, the economic crisis came along and the policies that were followed disorganised both. It would be wrong to view this dismantling fatalistically – to say that it was unavoidable due to economic depression. This decision was just as political as was the policy to create these institutions.
This is why the state is committed to stand beside scientists and public health professionals in their mission. These are the people that provide the necessary scientific foundations for training and implementing similar programmes. With conferences such as this, they open up to debate the crucial issues of implementing programmes such as the one to address social inequalities.
For now, schools are the places where equality in health care is implemented. All students must be vaccinated before attending school, all are co-equal and are equally taught about health issues.
We await with interest the results of this year’s conference, as it is one of the most important scientific events, where education, health, and politics meet.
We hail the commencement of the 6th Pan-Hellenic Forum of Public Health and Social Medicine, recognising participants’ readiness to raise the important questions and to contribute significantly to training and the promotion of health in our country.
