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.

In this episode of the “World We Want” podcast series, Dr. Eric Altschular and Simone Emmons talk to Márcia Balisciano about the their book Animal Assisted Therapy and the importance of service animals in treating a large array of mental health disorders. 
Anemia of Chronic Disease
This article relates to SDG 3. This resource, created together by Osmosis and the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), aims to increase the knowledge and awareness about Anemia of Chronic Disease.
Neil Patella Syndrome
This article relates to SDG 3. This resource, created together by Osmosis and the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), aims to increase the knowledge and awareness about Rare Disease Education: Nail-Patella Syndrome.
Elsevier,

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders (Second Edition)
Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
2023, Pages 501-524

This content aligns with Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing by providing the interactions among the virus, the host immune system, and the cells of the CNS, together with effects on host metabolism to highlight the implications this has on clinically overt neurological dysfunction and the effects of antiretroviral therapy are also described.
Elsevier,

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, Volume 250, May 2023

This research addresses the right to health by identifying the health risks associated with improper disposal of disposable diapers in informal settlements and emphasizing the need for better access to hygienic waste management practices. [low- and middle-income country]
This Article supports SDGs 3 and 10 by assessing predictors for COVID-19 vaccine uptake among older Syrian refugees in Lebanon and highlighting the need to target hard to reach populations to improve access and uptake.
Elsevier,

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Volume 228, May 2023

Efforts to reduce maternal mortality have historically overemphasized clinical approaches while failing to listen to mothers and pregnant people, threatening patient autonomy, and contributing to persistent racial disparities and high levels of preventable maternal mortality.
This chapter aligns with Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and Goal 15: Life on Land by considering best practices for using anesthesia on laboratory animals to promote laboratory animal welfare.
Elsevier,

Anesthesia and Analgesia in Laboratory Animals, Third Edition, 2023, pp 3-16

This chapter aligns with Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and Goal 15: Life on Land by discussing the ethical considerations of using laboratory animals as test subjects.
Epidermolysis bullosa
This article relates to SDG 3. This resource, created together by Osmosis and the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), aims to increase the knowledge and awareness about Epidermolysis Bullosa that can cause life-threatening infections as well as some forms of cancer.

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