Posted on: 23 November 2023
Our climate change strategy refresh, tackling health inequalities, smoking cessation and suicide prevention were the focus of this month’s Improving Population Health Programme Board at its meeting on Wednesday, 22 November 2023.
The Board endorsed a system wide approach in targeted areas to reduce inequalities, including though our West Yorkshire Inclusion Health Unit and considered our response to the Major Conditions Strategy that we will publish in early 2024. As part of our Suicide Prevention Champions campaign, the Board urged more people across West Yorkshire to join the movement and make the most of the existing suicide prevention resources available through our website and also encourage wider take up of successfully piloted suicide prevention projects.
Following our West Yorkshire Tobacco summit last month and our ambition towards a Smokefree 2030 in West Yorkshire the Board agreed to support a proposal to develop a West Yorkshire Tobacco Control Alliance. The alliance will bring partners, including NHS, local authorities, trading standards, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), police, fire, and HMRC, together to coordinate activities and act as a forum to share learning. Additionally, we welcome proposals to raise the age of sale for tobacco products, create a smokefree generation and eventually eradicate youth vaping.
Our climate strategy has recently been refreshed and although great work is being done, we know there is much more to do to achieve net carbon zero by 2038 and adapt our system to increase resilience and minimise vulnerability to climate harms.