The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new self-paced online course, Behavioural Sciences for Better Health: An Interactive Course for Public Health Practitioners, available through the WHO Academy.                     

The course was developed to strengthen understanding and application of behavioural sciences in public health. It provides learners with practical knowledge and skills to identify the factors that influence health-related behaviours and to design more effective interventions, programmes and policies. 

Human behaviours sit at the heart of many of today's most pressing health challenges, including vaccine uptake, antimicrobial resistance, physical activity, maternal and child health, and climate-related health risks, among others. While evidence-based interventions are essential to the achievement of better health outcomes, their effectiveness ultimately depends on whether people can adopt and sustain healthy behaviours.