There is growing understanding and high-level endorsement of the importance of strong collaborative multisectoral approaches to address a broad range of social, economic and governance issues for the prevention and control of noncommunicable disease (NCDs) and mental health conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of investing in strong health systems for countries to be able to respond to the myriad health issues that continue to confront the world—from climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and the threat of future pandemics, to chronic diseases that account for seven of every 10 deaths worldwide.

Small island developing states (SIDS) are a set of islands and coastal states that share similar sustainable development challenges, as a result of their size, geography and vulnerability to climate change.

The link between increasingly severe climate events and the rising suicide rate among India’s farmers has long been a concern.

Work can be a protective factor for mental health, but it can also contribute to potential harm. All workers have the right to a safe and healthy environment at work.

Continuing the thread of the 2019 and 2020 HDRs, 2021/22 HDR carries forward a conversation centered on inequalities while integrating other important themes related to uncertainties in the Anthropocene: societal-level transformations, mental health impacts, political polarization, but also, crucially, opportunity.

The year 2021 gave us many reasons for hope. With diagnostic, therapeutic and immunization advances, science offered solutions to kickstart recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects.

Around the world, millions of refugees and migrants in vulnerable situations, such as low-skilled migrant workers, face poorer health outcomes than their host communities, especially where living and working conditions are sub-standard, according to this report by the WHO.