Barcelona City Council has officially joined the National Health Promotion and Prevention Strategy (EPSP) of the National Health System, according to an announcement on 10 May 2026. The city's Public Health Agency of Barcelona (ASPB) formalised the adherence, which provides a common framework for advancing local policies aligned with social determinants of health.
This participation allows Barcelona to use accumulated experience and strengthen coordination across sectors such as health, education, social welfare, urban planning, and the environment. The EPSP aims to promote the health and well-being of the population by encouraging healthy and safe environments and lifestyles. This will increase healthy life expectancy and reduce social health inequalities, officials said.
Integrating Efforts for Public Well-being
The strategy seeks to integrate and coordinate efforts among all involved sectors and agents. The goal is to develop evidence-based interventions that promote health and well-being at all life stages, preventing risks, illnesses, injuries, and disabilities. This involves combining population-wide strategies with specific actions for groups facing poorer health determinants, building an equity-based approach.
Joining the EPSP offers Barcelona an opportunity to participate in networks with other municipalities. It will allow the city to share good practices, access training and resources, and generate collective knowledge. Furthermore, it helps make community resources more visible and accessible to citizens, strengthening public participation and inter-institutional collaboration.
Barcelona's Commitment to Health
Through this adherence, Barcelona reaffirms its commitment to collective health promotion with equity. The city will drive interventions that improve citizen well-being and quality of life, while reducing social health inequalities by considering social determinants of health. Barcelona already has several resources and working groups, such as intersectoral health tables covering community health, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health, which involve institutions, organisations, and citizens.
Another example of this commitment is Barcelona's Community Health and Primary Care Government Measure for 2024-2030. Through the expansion of the Barcelona Health in Neighbourhoods (BSaB) programme, driven by the ASPB, the city aims to reduce health inequalities, improve access to community resources, and boost intersectoral collaboration between public health and primary care.
Barcelona has also developed several pilot health promotion and prevention actions that have proven effective after evaluation and subsequently expanded their coverage. These include initiatives in schools, such as the recent emotional education programme for second-cycle early childhood education classrooms, '1,2,3 emoció!' (1,2,3 emotion!). The city also offers Cerca Salut Barcelona, a tool from the City Council where local organisations provide resources and services that complement public system offerings to improve citizen health, well-being, and care.
