Local Health Authority Day
Motto 2025: "Climate Change and Health"
Date: 14/03/2025
The local health authority is a central pillar in protecting the health of the population. The Local Health Authority Day is celebrated on 19 March. On 19 March 2019, RKI has proclaimed the Local Health Authority Day for the first time. It was on this day in 1745 that Johann Peter Frank was born, a physician and social medicine specialist considered as the founder of Public Health. Efficient local health authorities are the backbone of all public health efforts everywhere in the world. While hospitals and doctors' surgeries care for the well-being of individual patients, public health authorities aim at prevention measures for the broad population and also focus on population groups for whom access to regular health care is difficult or non-existent.
Climate change and health
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes climate change as the "biggest health threat facing humanity" (WHO, 2021) and recognises the Paris Agreement (2015) as the most important public health agreement of the 21st century. The International Association of Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) also considers climate change as one of the greatest global public health challenges.
Climate change affects human health in many ways, for example through extreme weather events such as droughts and heat waves, increased risk of exposure to certain pathogens, and it also has an effect on mental health (e.g. climate anxiety). In addition, the effects of climate change affect the social determinants of health and could increase social inequalities in the health of the population. The German status report on Climate Change and Health, published in 2023, provides a comprehensive synthesis of the current evidence on this topic. The report was led by the Robert Koch Institute and includes contributions from more than 100 authors from over 30 national public authorities and institutions.
Over the past years, the RKI has intensified its work on climate change and health in several subject areas throughout the institute and has established an interdepartmental working group on climate change and health to bundle the scientific work in this field. This group is coordinated by the RKI's Office for Climate Change and Health, which is responsible for the coordination and strategic development of the topic at the institute. The RKI works together with the health authorities of the federal states and the local health authorities to strengthen networking and cooperation on climate change and health at the various levels of the public health system.
Background
Importance of the local health authorities
Not only in Germany, but all over the world, local health authorities are essential in order to recognise and address health hazards in good time. In contrast to hospitals or medical practices who deal with patients on an individual level, public health focuses on the health of the population as a whole, also taking a preventive approach into account. It therefore has a greater influence on people's health than many are aware of.
In Germany there are about 380 local health authorities. They play a major role in tackling outbreaks – something both society and policymakers have become acutely aware of during the COVID-19 pandemic, but which is also true for smaller, local outbreaks, such as the measles outbreak in Cologne in 2018 or the hepatitis A outbreak in Berlin 2017. In such cases, they decide on and implement appropriate infection control measures. However, controlling and containing outbreaks is only a small, albeit particularly visible part of the tasks of local health authorities in Germany. The tasks range from counselling and support services for families, pregnant women, the chronically ill, mentally or physically impaired people, as well as daycare and school enrolment examinations, monitoring and surveillance tasks in the areas of hospital and environmental hygiene, participation in health monitoring and political advice.
The "Local Health Authority Day" (or in German: "Tag des Gesundheitsamtes") shall raise awareness and emphasize the merit of local health authorities all over the world and the people working there in the service of public health.
Johann Peter Frank
19th March is the birthday of Johann Peter Frank. The physician and philosopher was born in Rodalben, Germany, in 1745. With his six-volume lifework "System einer vollständigen medizinischen Polizey" (System of a Complete Medical Police), he is regarded as the founder of social hygiene and public health services. Johann Peter Frank’s work ensured that epidemics were averted from people by providing appropriate living and working conditions and by treating drinking water meticulously.
In his memory, the Federal Association of Physicians of German Public Health Departments awards the Johann Peter Frank Medal for special services to the public health system every year.
Local Health Authority Days in the past years
- Poverty makes people ill: Social inequality and health is the motto of the Local Health Authority Day 2024 (Press release by RKI, 12.3.2024)
- Prevention and Health Promotion are the motto at the Local Health Authority Day 2023 (Press release, 15.3.2023)
- Local Health Authority Day 2022: "Health Authorities – your local public health institutes" (press release, in German only)
- Local Health Authority Day 2021: "Crisis response" (press release, 16.3.2021)
- Local Health Authority Day 2020: "Health Monitoring for evidence-based action" (press release, in German only)
- Local Health Authority Day 2019: First ever Local Health Authority Day on 19 March (press release)