The European Commission and UNICEF announce a new partnership to improve health outcomes for children

16 January 2025

Children today face significant health challenges, from mental health issues to preventable illnesses and unhealthy lifestyle choices.

To tackle these challenges, the European Commission and UNICEF have launched a new partnership aimed at enhancing mental and physical health outcomes for children in EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway. This collaboration will support strengthening health policies for children and adolescents through the development of a Toolkit for Child and Adolescent Health and Mental Wellbeing Promotion, which will serve as a comprehensive resource for policymakers. Sandra Gallina, Director-General for Health and Food Safety at the European Commission, emphasised the importance of prioritising investments in the health and well-being of children and adolescents within a strong European Health Union.

The partnership will concentrate on five key areas of children’s health: promoting healthy lifestyles, early childhood development and intervention, immunisation, protecting children from the aggressive marketing of harmful products such as tobacco, nicotine, alcohol, and unhealthy food, and fostering good mental health. The European Commission and UNICEF will work to identify barriers to positive health outcomes for children, map gaps in existing policies, interventions, and programmes, and highlight best practices from various countries.

SAFE is committed to educating children about healthier eating habits through school-based training programmes as part of the Food4Inclusion and Preventia projects. This initiative is a crucial first step in empowering children to make informed decisions and adopt lifestyles that prevent obesity and related diseases.