Supportive environments for health:
Supportive environments for health offer people protection from threats to health, and enable people to expand their capabilities and develop self-reliance in health. They encompass where people live, their local community, their home, where they work and play, including people’s access to resources for health, and opportunities for empowerment.
Reference: adapted from Sundsvall Statement on Supportive Environments for Health. WHO, Geneva, 1991
Action to create supportive environments for health has many dimensions, and may include direct political action to develop and implement policies and regulations which help create supportive environments; economic action, particularly in relation to fostering sustainable economic development; and social action.