South-Trøndelag County, Norway: challenges of rapidly changing demographics
WHO/Oluf Christoffersen
On 28 August 2015, Ms Brit Skjelbred, County Governor and Dr Jan Vaage, Chief County Medical Officer of South-Trøndelag County, Norway, led a delegation of 32 people on an official visit to WHO/Europe where they met Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
During the day, Dr Vaage made a presentation on the Trondheim Declaration and Norway's commitment to creating equity in health and well-being and reducing health inequities worldwide. He also presented the health situation in South-Trøndelag County and explained how Trondheim's governance structure encompasses the multisectoral approaches taken by the Governor and the Chief Medical Officer to addressing determinants of health in the area.
A round-table discussion followed between the Norwegian delegation and senior management from WHO/Europe, on the following topics:
- drug and alcohol misuse;
- obesity and diabetes;
- social determinants of health and inequalities, with particular emphasis on migrant health; and
- demographic challenges and health system responses.
The delegation gained better understanding of the work of WHO/Europe, and Ms Skjelbred expressed the group's commitment to further collaboration, with a focus on migration for addressing the social determinants of health, as well as tackling noncommunicable diseases.
