Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset made the following statement marking World Health Day 2026:
Our health is our most precious asset.
But in Europe today, ageing populations, in combination with climate change and rising inequality, place great pressure on our health systems. And although digital advances are transforming the delivery of care, they too present new challenges. Such challenges threaten not only health systems, but public trust, social cohesion and the resilience of democratic institutions.
At the Council of Europe, health protection is firmly rooted in human rights law, especially the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter. Everyone must have a right to access health services without discrimination and states have a shared responsibility to protect health through law, policy and practice.
If access to safe, quality healthcare is undermined, so too is confidence in democracy and the rule of law. But trust in public institutions grows when people are protected, informed and treated with dignity. Health protection is therefore inseparable from democratic stability.
Health literacy is an important factor in building trust, dignity, autonomy and justice.
Empowering people with health information that is reliable and accessible underpins individual autonomy, counters disinformation and enables informed participation in public life.
Safety and integrity are also fundamental to health protection.
The Council of Europe acts decisively against counterfeit medical products, human organ trafficking and other serious threats to public health. We promote binding standards for quality and safety in healthcare and medicines, supporting states to ensure that innovation, including digital health and artificial intelligence, undermines neither rights nor wellbeing. Innovation must serve us.
And it is our right to live in a healthy environment. Clean air, safe water and protected ecosystems are not luxuries, but prerequisites for physical and mental health and for the long-term stability of our societies.
On World Health Day 2026, we affirm that an investment in health protection is an investment in democracy. Through strengthening equitable access to care, promoting health literacy, and safeguarding human dignity, we reinforce the foundations of resilient, inclusive and stable communities.
Protecting health protects the democratic values that unite us.
Secretary General Alain Berset
Read about the Council of Europe's extensive work in the area of health
