What is the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion?

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion is the framework used to advance health promotion forward in Canada and in PEI.  The Charter came out of the first International Conference on Health Promotion, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Ottawa, Canada, in 1986. 

The Charter remains relevant today and is used around the world.  It provides a framework for health promotion activities and identifies five action areas and three strategies to improve health and wellbeing in a population.

The Ottawa Charter action areas include:

• Build healthy public policy - putting health on the agenda in all sectors and at all levels
• Create supportive environments - create places and settings that support health
• Strengthen community action - empower communities to take action for health
• Develop personal skills - support personal and social development throughout life
• Reorient health services - change how healthcare works to focus more on prevention