A milestone year for the Cities for Better Health community, underscored by our heightened ambition and commitment to preventing chronic diseases in urban communities.
It has been a very busy year for Cities for Better Health. We successfully launched our new name and strategy and embarked on the ambitious Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative across six countries. We also reached the milestone of having over 50 cities join our network and have accelerated our efforts through local partnerships. Together, we have worked to expand the reach and impact of Cities for Better Health globally.
This year, we saw coalitions of partners across the network
develop and launch locally tailored interventions to address the
barriers that communities face in accessing opportunities to eat
healthy food or lead physically active lives. In 2024, Cities for
Better Health supported the implementation of locally developed
initiatives in cities such as Cuenca, Ecuador; Bogotá, Colombia;
Turku, Finland; and Strasbourg, France, among others. It was also a
year of transitioning to more ambitious monitoring and impact
evaluation across the network.
We want to thank all our partners, supporters, and everyone who
has joined us on our journey to drive change for healthier cities,
environments, and generations. Keep up the excellent work!
Explore some highlights from 2024.
This year, we surpassed the milestone of 50 partner cities, a ten-fold increase from just five cities a decade ago. We have welcomed onboard The Hague (Netherlands), Renca (Chile), Cuenca (Ecuador), Mykolaiv (Ukraine) and, just recently Logan (Australia). At a global level, we continued our collaboration with our founding partner, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, increased collaboration with Gehl and C40 Cities, and launched an exciting new programme with BYCS, an NGO with expertise in implementing and expanding access to cycling projects.
In 2024, Cities for Better Health took the opportunity to reach a broader set of stakeholders across sectors, from community organisations to city mayors and other policymakers, at agenda-setting global conferences and congresses focused on public health.
We joined the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress in Paris alongside our partners, BYCS and the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA). We gathered with leaders in the physical activity space to showcase our global programs like Move For Fun, Football as Medicine, and Cycle for Better Health. Additionally, we discussed strategies to bridge the implementation gap in promoting physical activity for urban youth.
Our collaboration with the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) enabled Cities for Better Health to support a diverse range of stakeholders from Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nepal, Brazil, Turkey, and Georgia to attend Velo-City in Ghent, Belgium, to share how they are creating happier and healthier communities through cycling. The Velo-city congress is the yearly flagship event of the European Cyclists' Federation attracting about 1,600 delegates from more than 60 different countries. The event plays a vital role in promoting cycling as a sustainable and healthy means of transport for all.
At the World Health Summit in Berlin, we introduced the Cites for Better Health Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative to tackle one of the most pressing health challenges of our time: obesity in children and youth. The initiative was launched with a panel including C40 Cities, Gehl, and the City of Johannesburg, who discussed cities as platforms for health, equity, and resilient communities.
The Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI) - a deep dive within the broader Cities for Better Health programme – aims to accelerate the prevention of childhood obesity in disadvantaged urban communities in six cities across Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa and Spain. These cities will develop and execute tailored interventions to promote physical activity and healthy eating habits among children aged 6 to 13.
Two highlights from 2024 demonstrating our holistic approach to fostering better health at a community level include the Healthy Cities Challenge and our new partnership programme with BYCS.
Healthy Cities Challenge – This year’s innovation challenge was a collaboration between Cities for Better Health and C40 Cities to identify and support promising solutions that shape healthy, green and thriving neighbourhoods in urban settings. The winning organisations, from Argentina, Brazil and Kenya, have received prize funding of USD 100,000 each to implement their initiatives.
The winners:
· Dunga Road Renewal project from Nairobi, Kenya (Lead organisation: The GoDown Arts Centre)
· Sabe La Tierra's food market impact expansion project from Buenos Aires, Argentina (Lead organisation: Asociación Sustentar)
· Oswaldo Cruz Urban Lab from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (Lead organisation: Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro)
Discover more about the winners and their initiatives
Cycle for Better Health – A newly launched initiative with BYCS that will bridge the gap between the health and mobility sectors by highlighting cycling's role in promoting health and physical activity. The first project will focus on introducing cycling to children in disadvantaged communities across Bogotá, Bratislava and Bari. These initiatives aim to integrate cycling as a regular activity for children, fostering a culture of active mobility from an early age.
In April, we were humbled to bring so many of our partner community members together to celebrate a decade of Cities Changing Diabetes. Our Ten-year review consolidates a summary of the actions initiated and sets the stage for our evolution to Cities for Better Health. You can still watch our celebration and new strategy launch webinar if you missed it.
We want to acknowledge the valuable contributions of our engaged community during a year marked by productive exchanges, collaboration, and impactful action. Our community's engagement and growth assert that our goals are shared and embraced across cities worldwide. This year, we have witnessed powerful and inspiring actions taken at both community and city levels by our committed partners around the globe. Together, we can drive change in urban health across generations.
