The Health Forum 2026, held at the Auditorium of the Social Services of the Lisbon City Council, focused on the need to bring health and social action responses closer to the population. The meeting brought together representatives from various sectors to discuss the role of territories in health promotion and combating inequalities.
The Provedor of Santa Casa, Paulo Sousa, participated in the panel “The practice of local health strategies: Lisbon”, arguing that health should be understood beyond hospital and health center responses. "Where is people's health truly decided? Not just in the hospital or health center. Also at home, in the street, in the neighborhood, and in each person's support network," he stated.
Paulo Sousa emphasized the importance of an integrated approach, based on proximity, coordination between responses, and shared governance. "By Local Social State, we mean proximity, integration, and shared governance. No entity can solve this alone," he defended.
Santa Casa's experience in Lisbon was presented as an example of integration, with simultaneous intervention in social and health areas. The institution has a network of responses that accompany different life stages, from childhood to old age, covering areas such as disability, family and community, homeless people, and health care.
Santa Casa's four proximity units, covering all 24 parishes of Lisbon, coordinate social assistance with home support services. "We don't wait for people to come to us. We are in the locations, close to home," the Provedor stressed.
The RADAR project, developed in 2019 and present in all 24 parishes of Lisbon, was presented. It aims to identify, register, assess, refer, and monitor individuals aged 65 or older through a community network and a common platform.
Santa Casa also provides proximity services, specialized, hospital, continuing, and home care. In 2025, its health network served approximately 60,000 registered users, conducted over 260,000 consultations, and operated 18 health units with more than 1,400 professionals.
The SOL project, Oral Health in Lisbon, which since 2019 has provided free oral health care to children and young people up to 18 years old living in Lisbon, reached 200,000 consultations in March 2026. It was highlighted for its universality, prevention, and complementarity with the National Health Service.
Mental health and community intervention were also addressed, with references to the W+ Unit and the collaboration between health and social area professionals.
Paulo Sousa presented five principles for building the Local Social State: know before responding, work in networks, integrate health and social action, ensure proximity, and guarantee sustainability. He also proposed the creation of common planning cycles, data sharing, and results-oriented funding models.
The Health Forum 2026 also included presentations on the municipalization of health and proximity projects in Lisbon. The closing session featured an intervention by the councilwoman of the Lisbon City Council, Ana Simões Silva.
