What else can be done in Belarus to preserve and improve people's health?

One of the main priorities of the state policy of Belarus is the preservation and strengthening of the health of the population, since this is a key condition for realizing the country's potential and a very important factor for national security.

As the chief state sanitary doctor of our country Alexander Tarasenko said in his report at the Forum on Public Health, the sanitary and hygienic service of Belarus demonstrated high efficiency during the coronavirus pandemic.

Important areas within the framework of health protection and, accordingly, the main tasks for the heads of medical organizations have been and remain:

Formation of a responsible attitude to one's health;

maintaining a healthy lifestyle;

Correction and regular monitoring of risk factors for infectious and non-communicable diseases at the population, group and individual levels.

At the same time, Alexander Tarasenko emphasized how important it is to identify and understand risk factors for the development of targeted preventive measures in the field of public health.

Rector of BelMAPO Aleksey Chukanov noted that "the health of the nation is one of the priority tasks of the state. And primary prevention is the only way to solve the strategic task of preserving and strengthening the health of the country's population. In the prevention system, hygienic science and practice are becoming key solve the key problem - minimizing or even completely eliminating those factors that can negatively affect both personal and public health.

Risk minimization is also associated with the prevention of non-communicable diseases. We can talk about methodological approaches to the development of a criteria-based apparatus for assessing the effectiveness of primary prevention measures, modern approaches to the policy of influencing risk factors for non-communicable diseases with an emphasis on the formation of the concept of harm reduction and determining the levels of responsibility. Within the framework of the forum, experts and researchers considered, as part of the mechanism for reducing the risk of developing non-communicable diseases, the features of the application of risk assessment and management in the microbiological aspect of ensuring food safety, as well as issues of state regulation of nicotine-containing products in Belarus.

Belarus needs to study world experience in order to form its own policy to reduce and minimize the harm associated with non-communicable diseases. Moreover, special attention in the national risk reduction policy should be given to people's consumption of sugar, salt, alcohol and tobacco, as well as to develop approaches that will allow consumers to switch to products with less risk to health. Such a policy should be based on international and national research and a sound evidence base.

Over the past years, the Public Health Forum has gained a reputation as an authoritative dialogue platform for a wide range of leaders and specialists from healthcare authorities and organizations, representatives of public organizations, the academic and expert community, and business.

| Prepared according to the materials of the organizers.