The World’s First Health Promotion Foundation: VicHealth

The concept of taxing harmful products to fund health programs was a revolutionary idea in the public health sector. VicHealth was created to reduce the impact of smoking and promote good health, safety, and the prevention and early detection of disease. The foundation was established with statutory objectives, including funding activities related to the promotion of good health, increasing awareness of programs for promoting good health in the community, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and funding research and development activities. VicHealth's initial focus was on buying out tobacco company sponsorships of sporting events and the arts, replacing them with health promotion programs. This initiative encouraged events to be funded by agencies promoting healthy lifestyle messages. VicHealth's early years were guided by a clear focus on substantially reducing the impact of smoking. The organization established a grant governance system for the oversight of program funding, which became a critical component of its success. Committees composed of community representatives and others with specialist skills in health promotion handled decision-making with VicHealth's grants. The separation between the board and staff in project assessment proved beneficial for VicHealth throughout the years. VicHealth's board included elected representatives from each of the parliamentary parties, ensuring the sustainability of its projects and campaigns across changing governmental policies. The organization worked as a funding agency, using other health promotion organizations to deliver key health messages, and provided training on how to maximize investments. VicHealth developed partnerships within the community, generating opportunities for citizens to become better informed, hone new skillsets, and have greater access to activities promoting a healthier lifestyle. One of VicHealth's significant partnerships was with the Cancer Council Victoria, which sparked the successful Quit campaign that significantly reduced tobacco use. The organization also led the movement to promote mental health and wellbeing, increased its participation in physical activity initiatives, and helped set up research centers to expand its knowledge of sexual health, maternity health, adolescent health, and Indigenous health. VicHealth supported various causes, including promoting healthy eating, encouraging regular physical activity, preventing tobacco use, preventing harm from alcohol, and improving mental wellbeing. Twenty-seven years after its inception, VicHealth continued to scan the environment for new knowledge and approaches to lead the health promotion discipline. The organization contributed value to the larger public health system by adding to its knowledge base and disseminating evaluation data and new evidence to practitioners and policy-makers. VicHealth's commitment to addressing major health issues, such as promoting healthy eating, encouraging regular physical activity, preventing tobacco use, preventing harm from alcohol, and improving mental wellbeing, has had a lasting impact on the health promotion discipline.