The promotion of health literacy is an important task that touches upon all areas of public life and requires the commitment of many actors – in the healthcare sector, as well as in the areas of education, training, work, research, communication and consumption. The present National Action Plan Health Literacy addresses this task. It looks at the action required in prevention and health promotion in everyday life contexts, in the healthcare system, in living with chronic disease, and in research. In 15 coordinated recommendations, it will be shown how health literacy in Germany can be promoted.

The National Action Plan Health Literacy was developed by a group of scientists and practitioners and thoroughly discussed with representatives (*) from politics, society, members of various healthcare professions, representatives of civil society organisations, as well as patients and citizens. The Federal Minister of Health, Hermann Gröhe, assumed patronage.

As the initiators and editors, we would like to thank the group of eleven experts involved and the many representatives from all sectors of society for their valuable input. We would like to express our special thanks to the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Federal Association of the AOK for the financial support they provided. After one and a half years of consultations, we are happy to present the National Action Plan Health Literacy to the public and begin with the implementation of its recommendations together with actors from all sectors.