Health challenges for the near future

In her paper, Healthy societies : addressing 21st Century health challenges, Professor Ilona Kickbusch argues that we are at a turning point in health policy and that changes in the existing health care system will not be sufficient to maintain and improve our health. Both our extensive knowledge about what creates health, as well as the exponentially rising rates of chronic disease, obesity and mental health problems, indicate that we need to shift course and apply a radically new mindset. Although primarily directed at South Australia, the report has national and international relevance.

Professor Kickbusch is one of the world's leading experts on public health, health promotion and global paper. This paper follows her stay in Adelaide on the Government of South Australia's Thinker in Residence program.