The International Horizon Scanning and Learning reports were initiated as part of the COVID-19 public health response, to support dynamic response and recovery measures and planning in Wales. In spring 2022, the scope of the reports was expanded to cover priority public health topics, including in the areas of health improvement and promotion, health protection, and health care public health. In focus: Fiscal Levers to Address Obesity.

Good health is a fundamental right, but in Wales, health outcomes vary unfairly across communities. This report emphasises the importance of investing in prevention to help everyone live longer, healthier lives. Effective prevention programmes offer great value for money and essential for prioritising public funding. They can address health inequalities, reverse the nation’s health decline, and promote well-being. The report integrates previous findings with recent research on value-for-money public health programmes, highlighting successful interventions across three life stages: early years, healthy adults, and healthy ageing. It highlights that prevention must be part of a broader strategy to reduce health inequalities, focusing on early years and poverty reduction, with targeted spending in Wales’ most deprived communities.

The report sets out how Public Health Wales is taking action to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote the resilience of ecosystems. As part of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, section 6, we have a duty to publish a plan and report on our progress. Our work to support biodiversity contributes to the well-being goal of a ‘resilient Wales’ as well as our other strategic priorities. Whilst the plan is focused on what Public Health Wales will do, it also recognises the need to work in partnership across the wider public health system in Wales and with colleagues in other sectors.