Official designation ceremony of Soonchunhyang University as WHO collaborating centre

Thank you for inviting me to this important ceremony.

And congratulations to the Research Institute for Healthy Cities and Health Impact Assessment in Soonchunhyang University on its designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Cities and Health for All Policies.

As you know, more and more people live in cities.

In 1950, less than one third of the world lived in urban areas. In 2007, the world’s urban population officially exceeded its rural population.

Now an estimated 54% of people live in urban areas, and the trend is accelerating. An estimated two thirds of the world’s people will live in urban areas by 2050.

In the Western Pacific Region, the Republic of Korea has the highest rate of urbanization. As of 2005, 80 per cent — or four out of five people in the country — lived in cities.

Certainly, urban areas are centres of economic prosperity with infrastructure that facilitates the delivery of essential goods and services to more people.

Cities also provide more people with better opportunities for health, education, employment and culture.

But when governments cannot cope with the speed of change, the results can be hard to live with — inequality, poverty, overcrowding, crime and violence… forces that break apart communities.

To help, we must look at the problem holistically, taking into consideration all the social determinants of health.

This is the great strength of the Healthy Cities approach. Healthy Cities addresses health issues arising from rapid urbanization in an integrated and multisectoral way. The strategy maximizes the effectiveness of local governance while promoting collaboration among sectors and empowering communities.

For this reason, WHO started Healthy Cities in 1986, in recognition of the important role of promotion in addressing health challenges. Interest grew among cities, so WHO initiated the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) in 2003 to provide a platform for cities to communicate and share experiences on the challenges of urbanization.

The alliance has since grown to more 150 members. Building on that success, my office launched the framework for scaling up and expanding Healthy Cities in 2011.

I am personally very proud of the role the Republic of Korea has played as a champion of the Healthy Cities movement in the Region.

Since the start of the Healthy Cities movement, the country has been one of the strongest advocates. In fact, Korean cities make up nearly half of the Alliance for Healthy Cities members with 71 cities registered.

Soonchunhyang University has served as a leading centre for expansion of Healthy Cities in the country. The institute has developed accreditation criteria for Healthy Cities in consultation with the WHO Regional Office. The criteria will be an important tool for the future development of the programme throughout the Region.

Soonchunhyang University is also conducting a Health Impact Assessment on public policies and developing guidelines for Health in All Policies in the Republic of Korea. These experiences and lessons learnt will provide updated and practical guidance to support other Member States in the Region.

Indeed, Soonchunhyang University embodies the vision of a collaborating centre as a centre for learning through shared experiences. The university has contributed constantly to the development of the Healthy Cities movement across the Western Pacific Region.

In recognition of their accomplishments and hard work, it is my great pleasure to announce today the designation of Soonchunhyang University as a WHO collaborating centre for the next four years.

In the future, the Healthy Cities vision promises to play an even greater role in improving the quality of life in the Region, as more and more people make their home in cities.

I look forward to working together to support Member States as they work towards creating more healthy settings for their people.

Thank you.