ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) has played a leading role in articulating and promoting the new public health. The concept of the ‘health field’ has been widely copied, modified and expanded. Similar national health reports were later published in the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and elsewhere. The main concern of the First International Conference on Health Promotion was the move towards a new public health. A core mission of public health was established as health promotion and the part it plays in controlling threats to health. It was recognised that the worldwide milieu for health promotion had considerably altered since the Ottawa Charter. The new public health, as promoted by the WHO, represents a significant paradigm shift vis-a-vis the old public health. A fundamental aspect of ecological public health is environmental health and the provision of basic requirements for life. The medicalisation of public health led to investments in diagnosis and cure with little emphasis on prevention.
