Action steps: putting and keeping health at the top table

Pre-bid activities

• Define a vision and principles from a health perspective that include a legacy/sustainability component (i.e., improve health and welfare; address inequalities; build on positive mechanisms already in place).
• Add language to the bid-city contract that formally recognizes the role of public health.  Make public health part of the core medical and public safety requirements in the bid so that agencies have a formal mechanism to provide suggestions to the medical and public safety committees.

Advocacy and roles

• Use the event as a “lever” to lift up public health issues on the agenda.
• Delineate public health objectives within the framework of government sectors. 
• Be prepared to invest significant effort in complex negotiations.  Use a diplomatic negotiation process to define:
  • Where will public health lead (e.g., health services; surveillance)
  • Where will public health influence (e.g., sustainable and healthy transport)
  • Where will public health support (e.g., security)

Representation

• Ensure health representation at all key levels and in all key organizing structures.
• Ensure the presence of public health advocates on all policy- and decision-making groups.  They should be prepared to advocate actively and vocally for public health to guard against compromises from potential political and commercial conflicts.
• Ensure that all advocates and champions are well briefed and have good backup, with access to high-quality evidence.

Funding and requirements

• Ensure allocation of adequate funding for public health components.  Prediction of resource requirements should be based on a comprehensive evaluation of anticipated medical care usage rates and assessment of public health risks.  This analysis should then guide development of specific prevention strategies, monitoring systems, and contingency planning. 
• Consider the need for new legislation, policy modifications, ministerial directives, and memoranda of understanding and cooperation to support joint planning and cooperation between sectors and agencies.

Legacy

• Ensure that public health legacy and sustainability issues are considered at the highest level and in all aspects of planning.  Keep asking the question – what long-term benefit can public health (and the country) gain?
• Develop mechanisms to ensure sustainability (infrastructure, procedures, systems, sponsorship), with considerations for public health at all levels.

Last reviewed: 31 July 2008