The contribution of CEPEDOC to the development of the Brazilian Health Promotion Policy

The Brazilian Health Promotion Policy (PNPS, for its acronym in Portuguese), institutionalized in the National Public Health System in 2006 and revised in 2014, resulted from the contribution of various groups, including the Centro de Estudos, Pesquisa e Documentacao em Cidades Saudaveis (CEPEDOC) [Center for Studies, Research and Documentation on Healthy Cities], a non-governmental organization linked to the School of Public Health of the University of Sao Paulo, and currently designated as a WHO Collaborating Center. This collaboration took place since before the institutionalization of the Policy through the participation in the development of the practical and theoretical bases that justified the existence of the policy and the mobilization and advocacy for its creation. This article aims to demonstrate the independent participation of CEPEDOC, as an NGO, in the construction of the PNPS objectives through its projects, scientific production, participation in events and that contributed to the development of the PNPS as a key policy and practice for the social production of health with equity.