This is the first in a series of dialogues which will focus on bringing together participants to identify steps to build healthy futures, through multisectoral approaches to sustainable health and well-being. Building on previous dialogues, this series will develop policy actions to ensure health is at the centre of building an equitable greener economic recovery post COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on progress towards achieving all SDGs including global goals for health. Notably, Sustainable Development Goal 3: ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages, as well as to the World Health Organization’s ‘triple billion goals’, specifically a further billion people enjoying better health and well-being.
Despite the setbacks, the pandemic provides a unique opportunity to transform our approach to achieving these goals for health and to reimagine how we build equitable healthy societies, while simultaneously supporting a green economic recovery and addressing SDGs on climate and the environment and the Paris Agreement. 2021 is a year for action, with the G7, G20, the Food Systems Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity and COP26 all taking place. The pandemic has also drawn attention to the interconnectedness between health, climate, the environment, biodiversity and a need for ‘one health’ and ‘whole of society’ policy approaches. Fostering a multisectoral approach, through linking key policy goals across these important for a will be key to successfully achieve a healthy, green future. In February 2020, Wilton Park brought together a diverse group of international experts to identify ways to build healthy societies and therefore healthy populations. See report here.
This dialogue will follow on, one year later, reconvening the experts, as well as introducing additional voices to ensure representation from across the globe.
Listen to Per Olsson Fridh opening remarks and Helen Clark reflections from the meeting here.
Wilton Park reference number: WP1923V
