Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé (Afssaps)
French health products safety agency

The Afssaps is notably in charge of :

• evaluating the safety, efficacy and quality of health products;
• supervising the undesirable or unexpected events related to their use;
• carrying out information campaigns for health care professionals and the public to improve proper use of health products.

Centre de Ressources et de Formation à l’Education du Patient (CERFEP)

The CERFEP is part of the public health department of CARSAT Nord-Picardie (regional pension and health insurance funds). Its goal is to promote therapeutic patient education. It offers training for health care professionals and a resources center.

Fédération Nationale d’Education et de promotion de la Santé (FNES)

The FNES:

• promotes the development and the recognition of health education ;
• coordinates the network of French regional and departemental committee for health education and fosters its development.

Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS)
French National Authority for Health

Its main missions are:

• To provide health authorities with the information needed to make decisions on the reimbursement of medical products and services;
• To encourage good practices and the proper use of health services by health care professionals and users;
• To improve quality of care in health care organisations and in general medical practice;
• To provide information for health care professionals and the public, and improve the quality of medical information.

Haut Conseil de la santé publique (HCSP)
French high council for public health

The HCSP is notably in charge of:

• contributing to the definition of multiyear public health objectives and assessing the achievement of national public health objectives;
• providing public authorities, in collaboration with health agencies, the expertise required to manage health risks and to design and assess prevention and health safety policies and strategies;
• providing public authorities with prospective reflections and advices on public health issues.

Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS)
French institute for public health surveillance

Supervised by the Ministry of Health, the InVS is responsible for:

• continuous monitoring of the population’s health status;
• health surveillance;
• health alert;
• contribution to health crisis management.

Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm)
French institute for health and medical research

The Inserm is the only French public research organization entirely dedicated to human health. Its vocation is the study of all diseases, from the most frequent to the rarest, through biological, medical and population's health research studies.

Institut national de prévention et d’éducation pour la santé (Inpes)
French institute for prevention and health education

Supervised by the Ministry of Health, the Inpes has the following missions:

• Implementing public health programmes on behalf of the State and its public establishments, as stipulated in the article L1411-6 of the French public health code;
• Providing expertise and consultancy in matters of prevention and health promotion;
• Ensuring the development of health education throughout the entire French territory;
• At the request of the Minister of Health, participating in the management of emergency or exceptional situations having consequences on the general population's health, and notably in broadcasting health warnings during emergency situations;
• Establishing health education training programmes according to modalities defined by decree.

Ministère du travail, de l'emploi et de la santé
Ministry of labour, employment and health

The ministry of labour, employment and health designs and implements government policy on the labour and employment field, public health and the healthcare system.

Organisation mondiale de la Santé
World Health Organization (WHO)

The WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for:

• providing leadership on global health matters;
• shaping the health research agenda;
• setting norms and standards;
• articulating evidence-based policy options;
• providing technical support to countries;
• monitoring and assessing health trends.

Société Française de Santé Publique (SFSP)
French society of public health

The SFSP is a french public health association. It aims to:

• foster public health research and works;
• periodically review knowledge in public health field and contribute to its dissemination;
• promote and contribute to public debates by providing insights based on scientific knowledge, experiences, know-how and the professional experience of the SFSP’s members.

Union internationale de Promotion de la Santé et d’Education pour la Santé
International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE)

The IUHPE is a worldwide independent and professional association of individuals and organisations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the people through education, community action and the development of healthy public policy.

Unité d’Education pour la Santé-RESO (UCL-RESO)
Health and patient education unit - RESO

UCL-RESO is a training and research unit in the School of Public Health at the catholic university of Leuven (Belgium). It is devoted to health promotion, prevention, health education and particularly patient education. Since 1989, UCL-RESO has been a "WHO collaborating centre" for health promotion documentation.