Oxford Health Alliance

The Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) is a charitable organisation based in London, UK, within a global network of participants. OxHA aims to reduce the global impact of the epidemic of four major chronic diseases – diabetes, heart disease, lung disease and cancer – which are caused by three main risk factors: tobacco use, poor diet, and lack of physical activity ultimately leading to obesity.

OxHA enables collaboration between experts and activists from a wide range of disciplines in order to raise awareness and change behaviours, policies, and perspectives about chronic diseases. OxHA advocates and assists in research about risk factors and prevention.

OxHA was founded in 2003 under the name Oxford Vision 2020. It was renamed 'the Oxford Health Alliance' in early 2005. In 2007 it became the Oxford Health Alliance Vision 2020.

Focus areas

In particular, OxHA focuses on five topics central to the prevention of chronic disease and reducing the risk factors - the organisation's work in these areas promotes translating compelling evidence into practical and actionable solutions. OxHA assembles and promotes evidence in each area, in conjunction with a network of experts and partner organisations.

• The economic argument for prevention: the costs of chronic disease are already vast, and without urgent action these costs will continue to increase.
• Prevention in the workplace: chronic disease risk reduction in the workplace can have a major impact on the health of employees and their families, while also demonstrating social responsibility and improving productivity.
• Youth, children and future health: the insights and enthusiasm of young people can change perceptions and lifestyles of future generations.
• Environmental design for prevention: designers, architects and urban planners can assist in creating an environment in which the healthy choices are the easy choices.
• Industry's role in prevention: prevention efforts by companies and industries can have a far-reaching effect on consumers and communities.

Annual Summits

OxHA convenes its members at annual summits. The first two meetings, held at the University of Oxford in 2003 and 2004, underscored the need for a truly global approach to the challenges of chronic disease, and the third meeting, at Yale, saw the start of OxHA's ‘transition to action’. The 2006 meeting was held in Cape Town, South Africa on the theme of 'Health in transition: working together'. It gave particular focus to the developing world and to ways in which the alliance can use the technology offered by new media, including the launch of 3four50.com.

References

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