Social Health for the Global Goals
Updated: Nov 4, 2018
Image credit: Salt of the Earth
This year, we are focusing on a theme of Healthy Not Hungry.
At the Global Goals Australia Campaign, we look at health on five different levels.
The fourth level of health we will look into is social health.
Social health is the measure of a person’s ability to form personal meaningful relationships with other people. It also measures one’s ability to experience and regulate emotions. Quite often, social health is used to assess whether or not someone may have autism.
Social health is an important aspect when it comes to the achievement of the Global Goals.
One of the first environments where we commence our development of social health is school. This includes pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary education. Each of these places, in accordance with Goal 4: Quality Education, must be structured for not only intellectual learning but social learning to take place.
The next major shift in our social health occurs in the workplace. It is important for all staff members to feel safe and comfortable at work. All employers must ensure the workplace is free from bullying and harassment. By doing this, it is more likely that employees will show a bigger commitment to their work, which, in turn, benefits the company. This addresses Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities is also an important part of social health. While the sustainable cities side of the goal tends to focus more on physical health, the community aspect looks at the social health, including resilience against disasters both economic and natural, improved access to facilities for women and children and the promotion of culture.
It is also important to note Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities when discussing social health. Empathy is a key component of social health. To achieve Goal 10, it is first important to realise everyone comes from different cultures and background and, therefore, thinks differently. An empathetic understanding of one’s beliefs and opinions is crucial to the achievement of not only Goal 10 but all of the Global Goals.
Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions will be achieved through the development of social health as well. Conflict often arises when two people do not have empathy for each other’s situations. Therefore, to achieve peace, social health will be key.
What do you think are some of the most important aspects of social health in the achievement of the Global Goals? Share your thoughts with us!
This article was originally published on the Global Goals Australia Campaign website.