Strengthening the capacity for health promotion : reflections on forty years since the Ottawa Charter

Health promotion (HP) is central to public health. The Ottawa Charter marked a milestone by defining health as a dynamic resource for everyday living and initiating a paradigm shift toward empowerment, participation, and creating supportive environments. Over nearly four decades, these principles have shaped public health policies, training programs, and institutional structures. Yet, as the COVID-19 crisis demonstrated, gaps remain that limit HP’s full integration into public health systems. This commentary reviews key achievements of HP since Ottawa and identifies directions for future progress, drawing on the analytic capacity framework proposed by Aluttis et al.