All about Health

All about Health was founded in 2014 as part of the National Prevention Programme, developed by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. Complementary to legislation, All about Health was established to focus on bottom-up initiatives from public, private and community organisations.

All about Health is a self-regulating network of over 3000 partners. Its mission is to mobilise a social movement of partners working together to make the Netherlands a country in which everyone is happy and healthy.

What does All about Health do?

All about Health is a bottom-up movement that inspires and activates people to lead healthier lives, within their own environment. At All about Health, societal partners pledge to take initiatives to achieve public health goals. Unique to the All about Health network are the connections made between people and organisations. Over 400 pledges have been signed by our partner organisations and the network includes 17 regional networks working together on health. Moreover, organisations have joined forces on a number of high-profile themed alliances.

From ego to eco

The All about Health network of over 3000 public and private sector organisations work together towards a healthier Netherlands. The healthy citizen is at the centre of all the efforts of the network, because every person is patient, employee, insured, student, parent, carer, citizen, or volunteer. Health belongs to us all.

We see people as part of an ecosystem. In this ecosystem, health is not isolated but interacts with nature, the environment and concepts such as sustainability. We believe in a value-based society in which all social domains work together in an integrated way. All about Health stimulates organisations to work together on health by connecting, organising regionally and locally, sharing knowledge, developing tools and by learning and doing together!

We like to do things differently. We embrace concepts such as Positive Health and the 4D model, and we want to develop financial models in which health, not illness, is the incentive.

Why is this needed?

A big effort is already being put into making the Netherlands healthier, but it’s not enough. The number of people with a chronic condition is at an all-time high, and it is still increasing. The health disparity between groups of people is getting bigger. A dispiriting trend. With our national movement we want to turn the tide. Together, we shift the focus from illness and care to health and behaviour. A healthy built environment is essential to this.

Progress

Effectiveness and progress are measured by independent academic research conducted by Maastricht University. Moreover, an annual monitoring report is published by the Programme Team in collaboration with research and advisory agency Sardes. Sardes is legally accountable for All about Health for the period 2017 – 2021.

All about Health in focus

What do partners value about All about Health?

1. Establishing connections
2. Momentum & agenda setting
3. Contact & gathering

What themes are partners working on?

Healthy lifestyle
Prevention
Positive Health
Mental health
Participation
Learning
Healthy built environment
Employment and health
Other themes