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October 26, 2009 -- Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, was a featured speaker at the “2009 Civil Society Development Forum,” a program of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Dr. Fried addressed the more than 100 U.N. officials gathered from around the world for a discussion on the threats to the health and sustainable development of nations.

Based on a report issued by the Forum, which examines the themes of health inequities including HIV/AIDS, the health workforce shortage, and the right to health and special health needs of women, youths, and other disadvantaged groups, Dr. Fried offered her assessment on achieving a healthier world future.  She focused on four key trends:  aging, urbanization, climate change, and food security. While these issues are often thought of as challenges, they can also present enormous opportunities.  The importance of understanding these trends and the profound effect they have on our future, possibly shaping our well-being for centuries to come, is critical.

Each of the four trends raises many issues which require a broad array of programs and institutions to address them, according to Dr. Fried. With regard to aging, incorporating a focus on the well-being of the rapidly increasing number of older adults and the importance of taking a life-course perspective must be considered, “one that appreciates the substantial contributions that older adults make to the well-being of families, communities, and society overall.”  One such program where aging adults can contribute is the Experience Corps, which places older adult volunteers in public elementary schools in roles designed to improve the academic success of all the children.  The program is simultaneously designed to be a health promotion program for the older adults.

Secondly, with cities rapidly expanding, many are unequipped to handle the basic needs of their growing population. This calls for the need to intentionally design cities to advance the public’s health. The third trend, climate change, is implicated in many conflicts worldwide. While goals to ensure the health of citizens are often not easily met, it is critical that we “approach strategies from a framework of equity and widespread public involvement, based on a scientific understanding of the connected causes and consequences of climate change,” said Dr. Fried. 

Pressures on food security and nutrition represent a fourth trend that has widespread health effects, and that challenges us to find innovative paths towards a healthier world. While there is no simple answer to the question of why people cannot access the food they need to keep them healthy, the staggering numbers of 400 million obese and 854 million undernourished are a call to examine deeper solutions.

Non-governmental organizations can play a critically important role, noted Dr. Fried. These include: shaping how the world frames health problems and conceptualizes solutions, taking into full account the lived experience of all people including women who are so often excluded; holding governments accountable, with “their feet to the fire to act now” to address both immediate and long-term threats with serious attention; and mobilizing people to make this change happen, demanding bold action by government and taking bold action themselves.

The Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations was developed in collaboration with the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and with the assistance of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.