Dr. Jarbas Barbosa inaugurates the launch event of Wellness Week. The 2024 campaign is devoted to social cohesion and carries the slogan: Greater social cohesion, better health.
Washington, D.C., 16 September 2024 – PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, called for “social cohesion to be a public health priority. In times of great uncertainty, crises and global and regional challenges such as the ones we are experiencing, social cohesion takes on a central position." PAHO Director opened the launch event of Wellness Week 2024, which began on September 14 and will run until September 20. This year's campaign is devoted to social cohesion and has as its slogan: Greater social cohesion, better health.
“If we want to build a sustainable and healthy future for our communities, we must promote social cohesion as an essential public health strategy,” added Dr. Barbosa, who stressed that ”social cohesion is associated with mortality indicators, levels of violence, the prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases, and has also been shown to be positively associated with quality of life and mental health, among others.”
PAHO Director called on the national and local governments of the Region, on the one hand, to implement "policies that ensure that all people have their basic needs covered in order to achieve more equitable and, therefore, more cohesive societies," and, on the other hand, to promote social participation so that "all people, especially those in vulnerable situations, have the opportunity to become involved in community life and collective decisions as a fundamental element for achieving greater levels of social cohesion."
Dr. Barbosa reaffirmed PAHO's commitment to provide technical support to the countries of the Region to build “healthier, more cohesive, fairer and more equitable societies in the Americas.
Social cohesion and equity in health
“Social cohesion is a fundamental element when it comes to reducing health inequalities and promoting equity," said Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Acting Executive Director Lisa Indar, who also participated in the opening of PAHO's Wellness Week 2024 launch event. Indar linked social cohesion “to the critical role of health promotion in the Caribbean region,” while welcoming the collaboration between CARPHA and PAHO.
The Executive Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (SE-COMISCA), Alejandra Acuña, recalled the importance for social cohesion of "the participation of all people and societies. It is essential, therefore, that the actions of the state and the public authorities be accompanied by citizen participation.
Finally, the Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Georges C. Benjamin, pointed out in his speech that “addressing the social determinants of health is essential to improving the health and well-being of communities”. Benjamin said that the importance of social cohesion and solidarity was already seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and recalled that it continues to be fundamental “in the face of the challenges we continue to face, such as climate change, migration or the many people who still go to bed hungry every night in the Region”.
Panel of experts on social cohesion and health
The launch event included a panel discussion where four experts discussed the specific role of social cohesion in health. The debate was moderated by the director of the Department of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity (DHE), Gerry Eijkemans.
The General Coordinator of Interfederative and Participatory Articulation of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Maria Rocineide Ferreira da Silva, focused on the importance of “equity in health and the universality of health systems to achieve social cohesion”. To this end, she added, “social dialogue and citizen participation” are essential.
Regarding this social dialogue, Rocineide pointed out, it is important to take into account racism or the fact that “there are policies that put men in the public sphere while leaving women at home”. Another key element for the social dialogue to be complete, he added, “is to introduce traditional knowledge”.
Professor Amanda Gotti, from the University of Chubut, Argentina, participated on behalf of the Network Strategies for the Promotion of Integral Health in Vulnerable Populations in the Americas (Red EPSI.V), a network with PAHO participation. Gotti mentioned research by his team that showed how “community networks were the driving force behind the response of communities to the pandemic”. He also emphasized that “health is an integral issue, we must move beyond the biomedical logic. Respecting community logics is a way of respecting social cohesion and considering health in an integrated way”.
From her side, María Luisa Marinho, from the Social Development Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL, for his acronym in Spanish), linked "people's trust in institutions" to social cohesion, and highlighted the fundamental role of health systems and, especially, of primary care "as a participatory element and a very important factor in social cohesion, as well as in the reduction of poverty and inequality". “There is a virtuous circle here,” he said, ”strengthening social cohesion reinforces the sense of belonging, which strengthens commitment to health and health systems, and this in turn reinforces social cohesion.”
The head of PAHO's Health Promotion and Social Determinants Unit, Orielle Solar, pointed out that “social cohesion is closely linked to addressing inequities” and is a central element “in the construction of health”. Solar highlighted the relevant role of local networks, “which are very important, for example, in the face of a lack of resources and which also generate security, and this fosters social cohesion. This, in turn, helps to reinforce “vertical trust, that is, trust in institutions and public policies, which is a fundamental factor in the post-pandemic period”.
Finally, the Director of the DUS Department, Gerry Eijkemans, stressed that key elements in terms of social cohesion such as “citizen participation and addressing the social determinants of health are mandates that PAHO has in the Region and are part of our strategic plan”.
