Please can you provide details of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Public Health Wales and the World Health Organisation in relation to the ongoing collaboration between the two organisations?
Thank you for your recent request.
There is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Public Health Wales and the World Health Organization (WHO) currently.
A MOU was signed between the Welsh Government and the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EUROPE) in 2020 for a period of three years. The MOU collaboration and its activities are implemented and supervised through – the Venice Office for the WHO/EUROPE, on one side; and through Public Health Wales for the Welsh Government, on the other side.
Welsh Government through Public Health Wales will contribute to the development of products under the collaboration; and will host learning exchanges and events with WHO Member States, territories and areas, which may include meetings, seminars, workshops and policy dialogues involving regional, national and international stakeholders and experts, to support uptake and application of the products resulting from the collaboration, through relevant initiatives and policies for improving health, wellbeing and reducing health inequities across sectors in Wales and in the European Region.
The MOU includes two areas of collaboration:
Accelerate progress towards healthy, prosperous lives for all, increasing equity in health and leaving no one behind in Wales and in the WHO European Region, enabling sustainable investment and solutions towards prosperity for current and future generations
Strengthen the role of Wales in the WHO European Region and globally, developing and sharing solutions and expertise, collaborating with WHO networks, forums, partners, Member States, territories and areas.
Deliverables to these areas included:
Deliverable 1: Health Equity Status Report (HESR) for Wales
Deliverable 2: Health Equity Solutions Platform (HESP) for Wales
Deliverable 3: Tools for modelling, developing and sharing solutions for policy and action across the life course, sectors and settings, establishing Wales as a live policy innovation site
The MOU was renewed in 2023 until March 2026. The areas of collaboration have remained the same; the deliverables to these areas have changed and include:
Deliverable 1: Progress the Health Equity Solutions Platform for Wales
Deliverable 2: Continue to develop, pilot and share innovative approaches and solutions for policy and action, establishing Wales as a live innovation site for enabling and progressing Well-being Economies
Deliverable 3: Resource mobilisation, horizon scanning and capacity building to support Wales and WHO Member States, territories and areas to shift towards Well-being Economies with health and equity at the centre
If you are looking for specific information we may hold surrounding this, we welcome and further requests/clarification.
As the MOU is between Welsh Government and the WHO, Welsh Government may hold further information on this matter. I have provided their contact details below, you will need to contact them for any information they hold.
Welsh Government
Requesting information from the Welsh Government (FOI requests) | GOV.WALES
I have provided some links below that may hold information you are interested in:
World Health Organization and Welsh Government commit to achieve better health for all | GOV.WALES
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of the decision, you should write to the Corporate Complaints Manager, Public Health Wales NHS Trust, 3, Number 2, Capital Quarter, Tyndall Street, Cardiff, CF10 4BZ.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint or review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Trust. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner for Wales
2nd Floor
Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
Telephone: 029 2067 8400
Email: wales@ico.org.uk