French National Public Health Agency

French National Public Health Agency
Santé publique France
Public administrative establishment overview
Formed1 May 2016
Preceding agencies
  • Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS)
  • Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes)
  • Établissement de préparation et de réponse aux urgences sanitaires (Éprus)
  • Addictions Drogues Alcool Info Service (Adalis)
JurisdictionFrance
HeadquartersSaint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France
Employees625 (2019)
Annual budget€200 million (2019)
Minister responsible
  • Minister of Health
Public administrative establishment executives
  • Caroline Semaille, Director General
  • Marie-Caroline Bonnet-Galzy, President of the Board
Parent Public administrative establishmentMinistry of Health (France)
Websitewww.santepubliquefrance.fr

The French National Public Health Agency (L'Agence nationale de santé publique, ANSP), also known as Santé publique France, is a French public administrative establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. The president of its board of directors is appointed by a decree of the President of the French Republic.

Established under the Health System Modernization Law, Santé publique France was created on 1 May 2016.[1][2][3][4] It succeeded the Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS), the Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes), the Établissement de préparation et de réponse aux urgences sanitaires (Éprus), and Addictions Drogues Alcool Info Service (Adalis).

History

The creation of Santé publique France stemmed from a preliminary report submitted on 2 June 2015 to Marisol Touraine, then Minister of Social Affairs, Health, and Women's Rights, by François Bourdillon, Director General of InVS and Inpes.[5] This report followed various parliamentary analyses, inspections, evaluations, and expert reports on existing health agencies, leading to the territorial reform law passed on 25 November 2014, which reduced the number of French regions from 22 to 13 and introduced metropoles.[6] The agency was formed by merging three existing health agencies under the Ministry of Health:

  • The Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS), established in 1998, focused on continuous health surveillance, monitoring, alerts, and crisis management.[7]
  • The Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (Inpes), created in 2002, implemented public health programs, provided expertise in prevention and health promotion, and managed urgent or exceptional health situations. It replaced the French Committee for Health Education (CFES).[7]
  • The Établissement de préparation et de réponse aux urgences sanitaires (Éprus), founded in 2007, managed the health reserve and strategic pharmaceutical stocks.[7]

The agency was formalized through the Health System Modernization Law of 26 January 2016 and an ordinance of 14 April 2016. François Bourdillon emphasized its population-focused approach, distinguishing it from agencies like the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), which oversees product safety, the National Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health Safety (Anses), which evaluates risks, or the High Authority for Health (HAS), which focuses on practice quality. The agency aims to emulate models like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States or Public Health England, prioritizing comprehensive public health knowledge, protection, and promotion.[8]

Activities

Missions

Santé publique France conducts continuous epidemiological surveillance to monitor population health, enabling tailored health policies, addressing health issues, and responding to exceptional health situations. It maintains ongoing health monitoring to identify health risks early and supports efforts to reduce health inequalities through health promotion and prevention strategies. The agency also innovates by piloting experimental programs across French territories.[9] Its missions align with the first pillar of the 2018–2022 National Health Strategy: promoting health and prevention across all settings.[10]

Programming

The Ministry of Health sets five-year objectives for Santé publique France through a Contract of Objectives and Performance (COP), first signed by Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Solidarities and Health, in 2018. The 2018–2022 COP outlined six strategic and 22 operational goals, covering epidemiological surveillance, prevention, crisis preparedness, policy expertise, and partnerships. The agency develops multiyear programs to define its priorities, validated annually by its board of directors. The 2018–2022 program focused on determinants and settings, populations, major diseases, territories, interventions, and infrastructure.[10]

Strategic priorities

By 2022, Santé publique France aimed to address:[10]

  • Climate change, including vector-borne diseases and heatwaves, through a dedicated program;
  • Strengthening evidence-based data expertise to guide prevention programs; Studying the health impacts of pollutants in living and working environments;
  • Maintaining robust health monitoring capabilities;
  • Implementing public health social marketing, such as the "Tobacco-Free Month" campaign; Regionalizing actions through 15 regional intervention units (Cire) and tools like Géodes for regional data.[10]

Organization

Governance

Board of directors

The board, comprising 32 members, sets strategic directions, programs, and resource allocation. It includes nine state representatives, one from mandatory health insurance schemes, four institutional partners, three health professionals, four association representatives, two local elected officials, two qualified experts, three agency staff, two deputies, and two senators. Members serve four-year terms, renewable once. The president, appointed by presidential decree, has been Marie-Caroline Bonnet-Galzy since 18 December 2017.[11]

Scientific council

The 27-member scientific council, appointed for four years, ensures the quality and coherence of the agency’s scientific policies, advising on research, expertise, and partnerships.[7]

Ethics and Deontology Committee

This seven-member committee, appointed for four years, ensures compliance with ethical and deontological standards, preventing conflicts of interest.[7]

Orientation and Dialogue Committee

Comprising 10 to 20 members, this committee optimizes agency actions, communication during health crises, and prioritizes public health issues.[7]

Leadership

The agency is led by:[12]

  • A Director General;
  • 10 cross-disciplinary scientific directorates;
  • Five support directorates;
  • A directorate for activity support.[12] Directors General have included:
  • François Bourdillon (2016–June 2019);
  • Martial Mettendorff (interim, June–October 2019);
  • Geneviève Chêne (November 2019–October 2022);[13][14]
  • Caroline Semaille (since 23 February 2023).[15]

Budget and resources

In 2019, the agency employed 625 staff with a budget of approximately €200 million. In 2020, it received a state allocation of €150,155,356, plus an exceptional €860 million for epidemic prevention and strategic stockpiling.[16]

Regional presence

Santé publique France operates 15 regional intervention units (Cire) to conduct epidemiological surveillance, monitor population health, issue health alerts, and manage local crises under the agency’s regional directorate.[17][18][19]

Headquarters

The agency’s headquarters in Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, near the Bois de Vincennes, spans three buildings:[20]

  • The 19th-century Château de Vacassy, originally a hospital for World War I casualties, established under a 1876 decree from a bequest by Jean-Joseph Vacassy;
  • The Villermé building, designed by AIA Architecte in 2012;
  • The Simone Veil building, a wooden structure completed in 2019 by Atelier du Pont Architecte.

Health reserve

Established in 2007, the health reserve supports public health responses during crises exceeding normal capacities, involving volunteer health professionals. It has been deployed during outbreaks like chikungunya and the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[21][22]

European and international activities

European level

Santé publique France collaborates with European public health agencies, including:

International level

Santé publique France supports the World Health Organization’s European Bureau and co-funds WHO-European Commission projects.[25] It serves as the secretariat for the International Association of National Public Health Institutes, established in 2006, and is a member of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE).[7][25]

Documentary portal

Santé publique France’s documentary portal compiles its scientific outputs, including the Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (BEH), Géodes data, health barometer studies, a registry of promising interventions, the magazine La santé en action, and prevention materials.[26]

The BEH, a free publication, features articles from public health stakeholders, with its editorial board partly composed of agency members.[27]

Géodes provides regional and national health indicators in interactive maps, charts, and tables.[28]

Health barometers, initiated by CFES in 1992, guide public health policies by analyzing behaviors like vaccination, smoking, alcohol consumption, and cancer screening.[29]

The registry of validated interventions catalogs evidence-based prevention programs.[30]

La santé en action is a quarterly magazine on health promotion and prevention.[29]

The agency publishes prevention and surveillance materials, including epidemiological updates on diseases like influenza and dengue.

Prevention initiatives

Thematic prevention websites

Santé publique France manages thematic prevention websites and funds remote health assistance programs.[31]

Remote health assistance

In 1998, Inpes launched the "Tabac Info Service" helpline. Since 2003, it has managed various remote health assistance programs. In 2014, the "Health Assistance Quality Label" was introduced to ensure service quality, requiring compliance with specific standards.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Loi n° 2016-41 du 26 janvier 2016 de modernisation de notre système de santé" [Law No. 2016-41 of 26 January 2016 on the modernization of our health system]. Legifrance (in French). Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ordonnance n° 2016-462 du 14 avril 2016 portant création de l'Agence nationale de santé publique" [Ordinance No. 2016-462 of 14 April 2016 on the creation of the National Public Health Agency]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "Loi n° 2017-228 du 24 février 2017 ratifiant l'ordonnance n° 2016-462" [Law No. 2017-228 of 24 February 2017 ratifying Ordinance No. 2016-462]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  4. ^ "Décret n° 2016-523 du 27 avril 2016 relatif à la création de l'Agence nationale de santé publique" [Decree No. 2016-523 of 27 April 2016 on the creation of the National Public Health Agency]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  5. ^ Bourdillon, François (June 2, 2015). "Rapport de préfiguration: Agence nationale de santé publique" [Preliminary report: National Public Health Agency] (PDF). Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  6. ^ "Loi n° 2014-1654 du 29 décembre 2014 relative à la délimitation des régions" [Law No. 2014-1654 of 29 December 2014 on regional delimitation, regional and departmental elections]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Santé publique France : qui sommes nous ?" [Public Health France: Who are we?]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on September 19, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  8. ^ Bourdillon, François (October 2016). "La France se dote d'une agence nationale de santé publique : Santé publique France" [France establishes a national public health agency: Santé publique France]. Médecine (in French). doi:10.1684/med.2016.81 (inactive 5 July 2025). Retrieved July 3, 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  9. ^ "Santé publique France: Essentiel" [Santé publique France: Key Information] (PDF). Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d Cardoso, Thierry (2018). Santé publique France : Missions et Organisation [Santé publique France: Missions and Organization] (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 21, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  11. ^ "Décret du 18 décembre 2017 portant nomination de la présidente du conseil d'administration de l'Agence nationale de santé publique" [Decree of 18 December 2017 appointing the president of the board of the National Public Health Agency]. Legifrance (in French). Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Santé publique France - Organisation" [Santé publique France: Organization]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  13. ^ "Geneviève Chêne est nommée directrice générale de Santé publique France" [Geneviève Chêne appointed Director General of Santé publique France]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  14. ^ "La Pr Geneviève Chêne quittera la direction générale de Santé publique France en octobre" [Professor Geneviève Chêne will step down as Director General of Santé publique France in October.]. Hospimedia (in French). 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Décret du 22 février 2023 portant nomination de la directrice générale de l'Agence nationale de santé publique" [Decree of 22 February 2023 appointing the Director General of the National Public Health Agency]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  16. ^ "Arrêté du 20 mars 2020 fixant le montant pour l'exercice 2020 du financement de l'Agence nationale de santé publique" [Order of 20 March 2020 setting the 2020 funding amount for the National Public Health Agency]. Legifrance (in French). Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  17. ^ "Les plans régionaux de veille et sécurité sanitaire" [Regional health monitoring and safety plans]. ARS Santé (in French). 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  18. ^ "Santé publique France - L'action de Santé publique France en région" [Santé publique France: Regional Actions]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  19. ^ Cire Pays de la Loire [Cire Pays de la Loire] (PDF) (in French). Santé publique France. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  20. ^ État des communes à la fin du XIXe siècle: Saint-Maurice [State of Communes at the End of the 19th Century: Saint-Maurice] (in French). Imprimerie Montligeon. 1903. pp. 26–27.
  21. ^ "Loi n° 2007-294 du 5 mars 2007 relative à la préparation du système de santé à des menaces sanitaires de grande ampleur" [Law No. 2007-294 of 5 March 2007 on preparing the health system for large-scale health threats]. Legifrance (in French). Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  22. ^ "Réserve sanitaire" [Health Reserve]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Activités européennes" [European Activities]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  24. ^ "Points focaux nationaux - Santé et sécurité au travail" [National Focal Points - Health and Safety at Work]. fr (in French). Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  25. ^ a b c "Les projets européens" [European Projects]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  26. ^ "Portails documentaires" [Documentary Portals]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on February 8, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  27. ^ "Informations générales / BEH" [General Information: BEH]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  28. ^ "Santé publique France lance Géodes" [Santé publique France launches Géodes]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  29. ^ a b "Baromètres de Santé publique France" [Health Barometers: Observing French Behaviors]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  30. ^ "Le registre des interventions en prévention et promotion de la santé" [The register of preventive and health promotion interventions]. Santé publique France (in French). Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  31. ^ Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé. "Santé publique France" [Santé publique France]. Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Label qualité aide en santé [Health Assistance Quality Label] (PDF) (in French). Santé publique France. October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
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