This publication, the first in a new series of profiles of health and
well-being, presents an analysis of the state of and trends in health in
Greece. Although Greece had been among the countries with the best
health status in the WHO European Region, health improvements were
falling behind those in other countries that belonged to the European
Union before May 2004 (EU15)--well before the current economic
crisis--and progress towards the targets of the Health 2020 policy
framework is mixed. Historically, the Greek population has been one of
the healthiest in Europe. As a result of the continuing economic crisis,
the widening gap in health status and the absence of national health
policies aligned with Health 2020, inequalities are likely to increase
and progress towards and achievement of Health 2020 goals might be
jeopardized unless decisive proactive measures are taken soon.
Profiles of health and well-being give an overview of a country's health
status, providing data on mortality, morbidity and exposure to key risk
factors and showing trends over time. The WHO Regional Office for Europe
develops them in collaboration with European Member States. When
possible, each report also compares a country to reference groups: the
WHO European Region as a whole and the EU15. To make the comparisons as
valid as possible, data are as a rule taken from one source to ensure
reasonably consistent harmonization. The data in the report are drawn
from the Regional Office's European Health for All (HFA) database. These
are collected from Member States annually and include metadata that
specify the original source of data for specific indicators. The
findings in the profiles are summarized in brief highlights
publications.
