The classic example of an attempt to improve health through cooperation and collaboration is the UN Healthy Cities Program that has been in operation since the 1980s. Several web sites provide information on its history and current form:
- The Alliance for Healthy Cities includes cities in countries in Asia and Oceania.
- The WHO Regional Office for Europe’s (1997) Twenty Steps for Developing a Healthy Cities Project is a clear description of the form this took in the 1990s and also outlines the qualities of a healthy city.
- The WHO Regional Office for Europe’s (2003) National Healthy Cities Networks explains how the program had developed in Europe to that period.
The Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach has similar roots to the Healthy Cities Program but is not necessarily focused on cities. Examples include:
- HiAP was a priority of the 2006 Finnish EU presidency; a 2006 EU/Finnish report laid out Health in All Policies: Prospects and Potentials.
- South Australia that emerged in 2007 and is led by the health department in collaboration with the Executive Committee of Cabinet Chief Executives Group. They have produced a useful practical guide.
- California where the HiAP Task Force was established in 2010 through an executive order of the governor.