The North West is a success story in many ways. We are the largest regional economy – larger than several European economies including Denmark and Finland.
We have almost seven million inhabitants and are home to more than 230,000 companies. Our economy is worth a remarkable £106 billion.
The people of the North West have achieved all this and yet, we have some of the worst health in the country. This means that a boy born in the North West today might expect to live 10 years fewer than one born in the south of the country.
The advances we have made in improving life-expectancy in recent years are likely to be wiped out if the current trends for excessive drinking and unhealthy weight continue.
Our public health teams have focused on a number of programmes and forged 
strong partnerships, in order to improve health and well-being in our region:
These include