Promoting health and well being

Social mobilization is the process of bringing together all societal and personal influences to raise awareness of and demand for health care, assist in the delivery of resources and services, and cultivate sustainable individual and community involvement. 

Social mobilization is an important means to advance sustainable development policy by making it more responsive and accountable to people’s needs and demands. Social movements often emerge from a sense of shared injustice, and “make visible alternative ideas and concepts about the forms that society (and development) should take.” Influenced in part by the spread of social media and new information technology, civil society has gained momentum in advocating change on a range of topics, from climate change to women’s empowerment, from social justice to transparent governance. 

The potential to harness the growing power of social mobilization for health promotion is tremendous. Because health touches the lives of everyone, everywhere, and since health inequities stem from and contribute to other inequities, integrating health promotion into various efforts for change can push the SDGs forward. The universal and indivisible Agenda 2030 offers a powerful stimulus to form alliances, and to expand the space for all people to participate in meaningful decision-making.