Health Y7 Leaders commemorate World Health Day

Rena Mototani (Japan), Mira Gunkel (Germany), Giulia Bosi (Italy), Rycahel Eric Andriana (France), Ben Goodrich (USA), Erika Dupuis (Canada), Haarith Ndiaye (UK) and Zuzanna Mieloch (EU)

Young leaders argue that the presence of the current COVID-19 health crisis cannot be overlooked - and call on G7 leaders to focus on the determinants of health and consequences surrounding the pandemic. 

Since its inception on April 7th 1948, World Health Day has been dedicated to taking a step back amidst our hectic society to focus on global health problems. For this year’s World Health Day, we, the health delegates for the 2021 Youth 7 (Y7), are highlighting three main priority areas on behalf of the world’s youth:

  • social determinants of health (SDH),

  • mental health, and

  • digital health. 

Social determinants of health (SDH)

The World Health Organization defines SDH as “the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes”, largely encompassing socio-economic factors and daily living and working conditions. Data shows the significance of SDH:

  • people born in high human development (HD) countries have a life expectancy 19 years greater than those born in low HD countries (WHO, 2020);

  • low educated subgroups report 100% more often “poor health” than tertiary educated subgroups (WHO, 2020);

  • at least half of the world’s population still do not have full coverage of essential health services (WHO, 2019);

  • about 100 million people are still being pushed into extreme poverty because they have to pay for health care (WHO, 2019).

We, therefore, call on the G7 leaders to prioritize a commitment to inclusive, universal and equitable access to health care, to strengthen health systems, and improve education standards for people from all backgrounds and social classes. 

Mental health

Mental health is another priority for us. It is especially prevalent for the Y7 as mental health is disappointingly absent from the G7 summit agenda, despite mental health being an extremely relevant issue for today’s youth. Data indicates that:

  • half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age, but most cases are undetected and untreated (WHO, 2021);

  • suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15-19-year-olds (WHO, 2021);

  • mental health problems constitute the largest single source of world economic burden with an estimated global cost of £1.6 trillion - greater than cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer and diabetes on their own (Mental Health Foundation, 2015).

We, therefore, call on the G7 leaders to implement mental health promotion and prevention strategies for the youth with a focus on eradicating stigma, involving young people in the mental health policy and programmes designing processes, and develop a more robust mental healthcare system with increased funding, better access and clear patient pathways.

Digital health

Last but not least, as the world becomes increasingly digitized at an astonishing rate, digital health is the final priority for us - the Y7 health delegates. As the health sector invests less in information and communications technology (ICT) than other sectors of the economy (OECD, 2020), we want improved coordination of data-based sharing across all nations and ensuring its benefits are shared equitably. Safe, reliable and regulated digital health spaces are needed for than ever: 

  • according to OECD, the proportion of adults seeking health information online more than doubled between 2008 and 2017;

  • data breaches cost the healthcare industry nearly $5.6 billion every year in the US alone (Becker’s Hospital Review);

  • healthcare jumped from last place in 2019 to seventh place in 2020, probably driven by COVID-related healthcare attacks and a barrage of ransomware attacks against hospitals (X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, 2021).

We are aiming for the improvement, innovation and investment in health systems through digital technology and data, so we call on the G7 leaders to allow for better utilization and adoption of current and novel technologies, and tackling the digital divide in the area of health. 

On World Health Day, we have presented this year’s Y7 health priorities - SDH, mental health and digital health - as the most pressing and urgent health problems for today’s young people amidst the biggest global health crisis we have seen. We are holding conversations with young people and negotiating policy to advocate these health priorities to the G7 leaders, in the hopes of having a lasting impact on youth of the world.