Good Health and Well-Being

By Nikita Kheni

Good health and well-being are a vital thing to focus on during conversations of sustainability and the planet’s future. Even in the 21st century, the planet suffers from several crises related to health. Covid-19 is the most recent and prominent example of how rapidly health issues arise and spread globally.

Here are some statistics provided by the UN Environment Programme:

Four hundred million people don’t have access to health care.

Over one billion people live in places when health services are weak so a sever global health

crisis could arise.

Fifteen million people do not have access to antiretroviral therapy for HIV.

Seven million die from pollution.

One in three women experiences domestic, physical, and sexual violence.

One person dies every two seconds from noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. Non-communicable diseases also cause 63% of deaths.

These statistics are staggering, and they demonstrate the need for finding ways to lower these statistics is greater than ever. There have been several achievements to lower these statistics that include reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, treating mosquito-borne illnesses, and tackling HIV and AIDS. Yet, AIDS remains one of the leading causes of death for youths in sub- Saharan Africa.

When we think about sustainability, we have to incorporate the sustainability of human

populations. Good health and well-being are a major part of this. One of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals is ‘Good Health and Well-being’. This goal focuses on how diseases can be combatted and how health can be maintained. “The new goal for worldwide Good Health promotes healthy lifestyles, preventive measures and modern, efficient healthcare for everyone” (The Global Goals)

Covid-19 has put even more pressure on the goal. Hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted by the virus. It is a defining event for our generation. The planet remains at risk for future pandemics if we do not take action to be more aware of how easily viruses can spread. We saw the world’s economy come to a complete halt, while health systems were overwhelmed and collapsed. The path to sustainable recovery after the pandemic is also one that is not easy and countries are struggling to figure out how to handle reopening without causing another wave for Covid-19 to spread. Prioritizing health while balancing capitalism has not been fully accomplished. It is vital to assess how countries can promote good health and well-being to ensure that pandemics do not have such immense impacts in the future. The costs of not preparing for a pandemic are clear and apparent right now. Too many lives have been lost and livelihoods have been taken away from people. This is why good health and well-being is so important to focus on going forward. Our futures have to center around good health and well- being because we need it to work on other sustainable development goals.

Social inequalities are also linked to health. Poverty dives chronic and catastrophic diseases.

Covid-19 highlighted the disproportionate access people have to healthcare. Essential workers were also individuals who were not paid well, did not have benefits from work, and were working low-quality, and low-security jobs. This puts them at risk and also affects their well- being because they had to work long hours adjusting to health measures and dealing with customers on the front lines.

Addressing how we can alleviate these inequalities and provide increased access to health

coverage will be a way to meet the goals for good health and well-being. Sustainable and

international development requires that communities are healthy and can participate in the world.

Our health keeps us active and able to contribute to the world. If we do not focus on our and

others’ well-being, it will be increasingly difficult to make progress in development. We also

have to address the significant gaps in health systems across different countries. Some countries have much better averages when it comes to life expectancies, while other countries deal with far too many underlying factors that increase mortality rate.

We have to build universal health systems that are better equipped to provide health coverage and access to safe and effective treatments, medications, and vaccines. These health systems must be able to provide personal protective equipment, be prepared to respond to any health issue, and have enough doctors to handle cases so they are not overwhelmed. Several actions that can be taken to promote good health and well-being include educating, implementing, and practicing. Educate about the importance of good health. Implement strategies for maintaining well-being. And practice actions that promote good health and well- being.

Fight for not only your own health and well-being but for others as well. Fight for everyone to have the opportunity to live in a healthy environment so we can reduce the risk of facing large scale consequences from the spread of viruses, diseases, and illnesses.

*Facts and information found from UNDP, Global Goals, and UN Environment Programme