Fiu:1lly, in 1997. tlu-. Jak:. 1r-ta Declaration on Leading Hc:1lth Promotion into lltc 21' Ccnlury was. i tui-nin/. \ point as it w;:1s the first he. :ilth promotio n conference held in a develop in). \ <:'>11ntry nnd actively participated in hy the private sector in developing hcnllh promnl ion slralc Kic s. It identified the importance or health promotion as an investrm;nt ::ind reiterated the need to address social determinants or health, which arc: (1997) Pc. ice. sheller. education Suc:ial security, social relations, empowerment of women Fnod, im:omc A :;table ecosystem, sustainable resource use !:incialju..,1. ice, respect for human rights and equity Poverty which is the greatest threat to health What were Lhe lessons learned from the international conferences on health from 1986 to 1997? ·. 111.,t health and health p romolion will never be the sole responsibility of the lit. !alth prr Jfessionnls and the health professio n a Jone; Health programs should address the social c. let:e. nnfoants to health in order to be effective and su!>"tainable; and Commitment to health is a commitment to social justice, equity, community participatio n and sustainable de,·e Jopmen L The Philippine c. xperience in advancing health promotjoo programs were initially tied up with control aml pre,·ention of non-communicable dis-eases(~CD J like hypertensio n, cancer. dinhetes mellitus. asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPDJ. The Filipinos. kno"·n to he more crisis-oriented than health conscious. vould usually need to have-"Cri,,u_. _ l1e11lt h reasons for instituting,m<l maintai ning healthy lifestyle. The fran~·work fnr a11 i11tegrn1t. ;J comllluni L~·-based NCD pn:,·ention and control program in the· <:nuntry t T11:izon el al, 2003) took off from the \NHO's general frame--·ork on intc,:?. r:11l-d NC:!) r1r,q11Lio11 ;,ml r. :ontrul in the \vestem Pacific Region (Wl!O-'..VPRO, 1998). \\"ltil..-1111t. ·gr. 1t cd NCO pre\'cntion reco!{ni7. ei; the import;im;e of institutions and com1111111itr i 11 t,~·altlt promotio n, delivery ;1nd mriintenancc. much of the interventions shcrnl J put pnr1in1br rrnpha;; is 111 imlivich1nl control tluou?,b chan~in?, behavior and lifo,-. t}'ks. I low,v~-r. <,:011:;;i~krabl1. : prnl!,ro::-s in ?i CD pre'-'e Qlion and control cnn be nchicvcd by cn:ati11~ ti health protective c1wiro11me t through healthy public policies 11,a: well as hcalllt-"Cctor l·cfon11s and cost-cffectfre interventions. 227 