If we were to ask you what defines a "healthy community," what would you say?

Is it a community where people do not get sick?

Or a community where residents consider themselves completely healthy?

The Foundation "Health Solutions for an Open Society" began working on developing the concept of a "healthy community" last year, based on the idea that health is not just the absence of disease but also the highest possible level of human self-realization in society.

In 2022, with the support of the Public Health Program of the International Renaissance Foundation, our partners from the Kharkiv Expert Group for Healthcare Reform Support implemented the project "Healthy Community – The Future of Ukraine" in collaboration with the Healthy Solutions for an Open Society Foundation.

In partnership with six Ukrainian communities, we worked to understand how to change outdated approaches to local governance strategies, making people, their health, and the preservation of human capital the top priorities.

A logical continuation of this work was the project "Healthy and Capable Community," supported by ULEAD with Europe. Within this project, our foundation, together with the Kharkiv Expert Group for Healthcare Reform Support, helped communities create integrated teams that influence the development and implementation of local health policies based on participatory leadership principles.

This publication was prepared with the support of the European Union and its member states—Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Estonia, and Slovenia. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of its authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U-LEAD with Europe Program, the European Union, or its member states.