From 20 June–11 July 2025, WHO worked with 58 practitioners and policy-makers working within local and national levels of government, regional and global networks of cities, and civil society organizations, from 22 countries across all 6 WHO regions, supporting them to build skills and connections to strengthen cross-sectoral action for healthier, more equitable cities.
Through hands-on exercises, real-world case studies and peer exchange, participants learned how to apply WHO's Urban Health Capacity Assessment and Response Resource Kit to assess, strengthen and apply capacities across four critical areas for collaborative work across sectors and levels of governance - local, national and regional:
- Informed decision-making, monitoring, and evaluation
- Policies, programmes, innovation, and change
- Resource management (human, financial, and infrastructural)
- Partnerships, participation, and knowledge sharing
WHO is inspired by the insights shared and the commitment shown by this diverse and talented group, who are now better equipped to lead change for the improved health of people living in their cities and towns.
"Working across sectors and ensuring the coherence of policies across different areas are key to creating supportive and enabling environments for health, which ensures that health and equity considerations, ensuring fair access to services and amenities, are integrated throughout the planning process, investments and policy decisions at the local level," says Dr Nathalie Roebbel, WHO's cross-cutting lead for urban health.
The Urban Health Capacity Assessment and Response Resource Kit is one of WHO's key deliverables in supporting countries in their efforts to improve urban contexts for better health outcomes, equipping policy-makers and practitioners in any sector with the skills and knowledge necessary to assess and strengthen capacities to work collaboratively across sectors to achieve urban goals in a way that benefits health.
Watch our training videos with Spanish and French subtitles.
