Health and wellbeing

Health and well-being have a central role in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the United Nations, emphasizing the integral part they play in building a sustainable future. The third SDG explicitly calls for ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. This goal encompasses a wide range of health objectives, from reducing maternal and child mortality rates, combatting disease epidemics, to improving mental health and well-being. But beyond SDG 3, health is intrinsically linked with almost all the other goals.

When addressing SDG 1, which aims to end poverty, one cannot neglect the social determinants of health. Economic hardship often translates into poor nutrition, inadequate housing, and limited access to health care, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and poor health. Similarly, achieving SDG 2, ending hunger, also contributes to better health through adequate nutrition, essential for physical and mental development and the prevention of various diseases.

Conversely, the repercussions of climate change, encapsulated in SDG 13, profoundly impact health. Rising global temperatures can lead to increased spread of infectious diseases, compromised food and water supplies, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, all posing severe health risks. Conversely, the promotion of good health can also mitigate climate change through the reduction of carbon-intensive lifestyles and adoption of healthier, more sustainable behaviors.

SDG 5, advocating for gender equality, also has substantial health implications. Ensuring women's access to sexual and reproductive health services not only improves their health outcomes, but also contributes to societal and economic development. Furthermore, achieving SDG 4, quality education, is also critical for health promotion. Education fosters health literacy, empowering individuals to make informed health decisions, hence improving overall community health.

Lastly, SDG 17 underlines the importance of partnerships for achieving these goals. Multi-sector collaboration is vital to integrate health considerations into all policies and practices. Stakeholders from various sectors, including health, education, agriculture, finance, and urban planning, need to align their efforts in creating sustainable environments that foster health and well-being.

Hence, the relationship between health, well-being, and the SDGs is reciprocal. Improving health and well-being helps in achieving sustainable development, and vice versa. In this context, health and well-being are not just outcomes but are also powerful enablers of sustainable development. For the world to truly thrive, it must recognize and act upon these interconnections.

World No Tobacco Day 2024: Uniting for a Tobacco-Free Future

Every year, on May 31st, World No Tobacco Day serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating impact that tobacco use has on individuals, families, and communities worldwide. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States in 1987, this global event aims to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

The Toll of Tobacco

World Blood Donor Day 2024: Honoring the Heroes of Life

Picture this: a world where countless lives are saved every day, not by superheroes in capes, but by ordinary people with an extraordinary gift to give. These are the blood donors, the unsung heroes who, on June 14th, we come together to celebrate during World Blood Donor Day (WBDD).

The Power of a Simple Act

Elsevier,

The Lancet, 2024, ISSN 0140-6736, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02799-X.

This paper is about empowering women during the menopause and argues that an over-simplified narrative of menopause as a health problem to be solved by replacing hormones is not based on evidence and deflects attention from the need for substantial societal shifts in how menopause, and midlife/older women in general, are viewed and treated around the world.
Elsevier,

The Lancet, 2024, ISSN 0140-6736,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02802-7.

This paper is about treatment-induced menopause after cancer care. It highlights how treatment-induced menopause can lead to more severe symptoms than natural menopause and these are often overlooked during cancer care – especially in LMICs.

World Immunization Week 2024: Uniting for Universal Vaccine Coverage

World Health Day 2024: Global Action for Universal Health

Elsevier,

The Lancet HIV, Volume 11, Issue 3, 2024, Page e131, ISSN 2352-3018

Women are disproportionately affected by HIV globally, and in some of the hardest hit regions, women bear the brunt of the epidemic in terms of both disease burden and care for those affected.

World Tuberculosis Day 2024: A Global Call to Action

March 24th, 2024

Each year, World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24th, a day of significance marking Dr. Robert Koch's groundbreaking announcement in 1882 of the discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (TB). This discovery was a pivotal moment in the medical field, leading to the development of diagnostic methods and treatments for this devastating disease.

The Significance of World Tuberculosis Day

World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2025: A Catalyst for Global Health and Sustainable Development

This Viewpoint looks at the reasons that females tend to be less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, are diagnosed later in life, and are less likely to be prescribed medication. It considers potential biological factors including genetic factors, the influence of diagnostic factors such as diagnostic overshadowing, and sociocultural explanations including sex differences in presentation and compensatory behaviour.

Pages