Box 8. The Johannesburg Healthy City Programme
Getting started
This phase of the Johannesburg HCP began in 1993 with the formation of an intersectoral
activating committee. This committee included various council departments, namely
environmental health, community health, urbanization, planning, and housing, plus outside
bodies such as the local medical school, the Medical Research Council and some
non-governmental organizations. The local council provided a supportive environment for
the project, having already moved towards intersectoral management by merging several
departments under one head called ‘Health, Housing and Urbanization’ and the council’s
Management Committee also took on the role of the project Steering Committee.
Getting organized
The next stage consisted of a series of workshops and seminars both on the general
concept of Healthy Cities and on specific settings, including homes, schools, markets and
environments. Despite the high-level commitment of the council to the project, it did not
fund the post of Co-ordinator and this was initially obtained by having a research assistant
seconded from the MRC. This arrangement worked moderately well for the first few
years of the project but the lack of permanence in the post led to a higher turnover of
staff than was desirable. Eventually the tasks of the Co-ordinator were integrated into the
functions of officials in the environmental health directorates. This degree of integration
of the HC philosophy into local government may be regarded as the ‘ideal’, but it can lead
to the role becoming increasingly marginalized among the heavy workload of these officials.
A more positive development, however, was the co-ordination of several smaller
local authorities under a metropolitan authority. This presented the opportunity for more
integrated approaches for health and environment planning across the city.
Taking action
Some of the positive outcomes of the Johannesburg initiative included:
• Several small but successful demonstration projects in settings such as schools,
homes, markets and workplaces;
• Environmental policy guidelines for the new metropolitan government;
• A draft environmental management strategy to form a context for future initiatives;
• A participatory planning framework for improved environmental management;
• The linking of the Metropolitan Council to the MRC and the University of the
Witwatersrand in a partnership which forms the WHO Collaborating Centre for Urban
Health.
Challenges and constraints
Without doubt the biggest challenge for the Johannesburg HCP has been the restructuring
of local government, which has been almost continuous throughout the life of the
project. Uncertainties and job insecurity have led to both attrition and rapid turnover of
staff. Vacant posts have often been ‘frozen’ which led to increased workloads. In these
circumstances officials struggle to maintain existing services and innovative ideas tend
to be stifled. Despite these problems many of the principles of the HCP have been incorporated
into the current city management structures and an enthusiastic core group
maintains a watchful eye for opportunities to expand Healthy Cities activities in the
future.