Doctors warn: lack of prevention endangers the health of the Germans

Doctors warn: lack of prevention endangers the health of the Germans

Berlin in alarm state: health feathering? None!

dr. Carola Reimann, the strong voice of the AOK Federal Association, swept hard through the political landscape of Berlin yesterday! During the hearing to the law to strengthen public health, she did not leave good hair in the catastrophic financing of the new Federal Institute for Prevention and Education in Medicine (bipam). Her sharp criticism of disregarding the decisive "health-in-all-policies" strategy lets the alarm bells ring!

"Four out of ten deaths in Germany can be attributed to the known risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy nutrition and lack of exercise," says Reimann, and urgently appeals to the urgency of an effective prevention policy. The truth is hard: Germany is one of the final lights in the creation of living conditions, promoting health and lies in life expectancy in one of the last places in Western Europe. And that where we are the highest health expenditure per capita in the EU!

a missed departure in prevention

The main reason for this concern of worrying? The dramatic failures in prevention! The concept of "health-in-all-policies" was not only weakened, but literally hollowed out. Instead of integrating health across all political measures, more emphasis is placed on amendments. Where is the hoped -for overall strategy for a health -promoting environment?

"We have to create framework conditions that support healthy behavior," demands Reimann, emphasizing that the greatest levers for change are outside of healthcare. But these levers are neglected- visible in the weak nutritional, mobility and addiction policy!

Financial means? A joke!

The most unpleasant news comes from the finance department. The funds for the bipam were massively shortened. With the already lean budgets, hardly any effective design of a health -promoting overall policy is possible. Particularly alarming? There is a lack of sufficient means for the new edition of the important KIGGS study on the health of children and adolescents in Germany-the data is already outdated and urgently require an update!

"These developments are not a good sign for the urgently needed upheaval in the health system!" criticizes Reimann with concern. Instead of actively encouraging people to keep healthy, politics still seems to be willing to accept diseases and only then treat them. In view of the demographic change, this is a strategy that leads into nothing!