The development of the public health workforce is acornerstone in WHO's Action Plan for Strengthening Public HealthServices and Capacities. Public health education shall combineEssential Public Health Operations – surveillance; monitoring; healthprotection and promotion; disease prevention; service delivery;communication and research – with the competences needed within:public health methods; population health and its social, economicand environmental determinants; and man-made systems andinterventions to improve population health. An authorised publichealth profession founded on graduation from comprehensive publichealth education is needed. The capacity and standards of Schoolsof Public Health should accordingly be continuously developed.