Fostering Social Connection for Global Health

Topic Description

Good health is not only about medicine, vaccines, or hospitals. It is also about people’s relationships and the communities they live in. “Social connection” means the quality of our interactions with family, friends, neighbors, classmates, and society as a whole. Research shows that being socially connected makes people healthier and even helps them live longer. By contrast, loneliness and isolation increase risks of depression, heart disease, dementia, depression, and early death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently identified social connection as a global health priority. Around the world, changes in modern life—such as urbanization, migration, technology, and aging populations—are creating new challenges. Young people may feel pressure from social media without meaningful real-world friendships. Older adults may live alone without strong family or community ties. Migrants may experience isolation in unfamiliar societies.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is discussing what governments and global organizations can do to foster connection and reduce loneliness. Possible strategies include: creating more community spaces, strengthening mental health support, promoting inclusive schools and workplaces, and using technology responsibly to build connections rather than weaken them.

At the national level, governments may consider integrating social connection metrics into health surveillance systems, funding community infrastructure (parks, libraries, cultural centers), and expanding access to mental health and primary care services that address loneliness.

Discussions on this topic will also need to think about equity: loneliness does not affect all groups equally. Marginalized communities, displaced people, and those with disabilities often face greater barriers to connection. Solutions should therefore be inclusive and culturally sensitive.

Other key questions include: How can countries make social connection a health priority? What role can schools, workplaces, and technology companies play? How can loneliness and social connection be quantified in ways that inform health policy? How can the use of digital tools help combat isolation? How can interventions avoid privileging high-income countries with advanced infrastructure while ensuring inclusion
of marginalized populations?

This agenda item highlights that health is not only physical or biological—it is also social. Improving human relationships and reducing isolation can lead to healthier, stronger, and more resilient societies worldwide.