Collaborative event “Health Promotion 2.0: The Role of the Health Promoter in Estonia in 2026”
Health promoters on World Health Day: health promotion helps to address worsening health crises
On World Health Day, 7 April, more than 60 health promotion specialists, experts and decision-makers from across Estonia gathered at Tallinn Health University of Applied Sciences. The collaborative event “Health Promotion 2.0: The Role of the Health Promoter in Estonia in 2026” was opened by the Minister of Social Affairs, Karmen Joller.
Mental health problems, lifestyle-related health risks and health inequalities are worsening societal problems in Estonia. Well-organised health promotion is demonstrably cost-effective and helps reduce the workload of professionals who deal with the consequences of these problems.
According to Minister Joller, people’s awareness of health issues has grown rapidly, and tools ranging from Google and artificial intelligence to smartwatches are widely used. However, this presents health promoters with entirely new challenges.
“You have to navigate a world where everyone seemingly knows everything about health and information is readily available, yet at the same time the prevalence of overweight has reached epidemic proportions, increasing numbers of children are obese, and cardiovascular diseases and cancer remain the leading causes of death,” Joller said.
“Much of the responsibility here lies with individuals themselves and their lifestyle choices, and health promoters are the ones who motivate and build communities that help people improve their lifestyles. This is very challenging but very valuable work. Thank you for it!”
Health promotion has been practised in Estonia for over 30 years. Tallinn Health University of Applied Sciences has been training health promoters since 2007, and the curriculum is continually evolving to meet both societal needs and the occupational standard for health promoters. Health promoters work across Estonia in county development organisations, local governments, and private and public institutions.
Nele Kunder, Head of the Health Promotion Programme at Tallinn Health University of Applied Sciences, said: “Health promoters have a unique role in shaping the environments and factors that determine people’s health. For the impact of health promotion to be visible and tangible in society, both a qualified workforce and a system that makes the best possible use of health promoters are needed.”
A health promoter is a planner, enabler and coordinator who addresses the root causes of health problems. Unlike healthcare professionals and many other professionals in the social and health sectors, health promoters do not work with people one-to-one, but shape living, working and learning environments so that the healthy choice is the easiest choice. The key competencies of health promoters are described in the occupational standard for health promoters.
The collaborative event took place as part of the celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter. It was this international agreement, adopted in 1986, that shaped the modern understanding of health promotion.
The aim of the day was to identify what was working well in Estonia’s health promotion system and what needed improvement. At the end of the day, proposals were formulated for policymakers and decision-makers.
See also the event gallery HERE.