What connects SDGs and Health Benefits?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The SDGs (a set of targets that governments around the world agree to achieve through United Nations dialogue) is to create a world where everyone has a chance to climb the socioeconomic ladder. The SDGs will be achieved through resource development (e.g infrastructure security and development), human rights (e.g. gender equality and justice), and diplomacy. The achievement of SDGs should also have tremendous health benefits because studies have been conducted that indicate the negative consequences of different forms of hate on the human body.
The Health Benefits
In a recent article, Racism Harms Children’s Health, Survey Finds, by Ben Panko has shown that individuals who experience racism have negative health consequences, such as depression and anxiety. The study was conducted by looking at a census, and then locating those individuals to survey them alongside their medical history. The researchers noticed that there seems to be correlation between racism and poor mental health. Another study that studied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals’ mental health showed correlation between homophobia and poor mental health, which lead to an increase in suicide rates of LGBT individuals. It has also been found in genetic studies that trauma remains in the genetic code of groups of people that have experienced institutionalized suppression (i.e. laws that mistreat minorities). In addition, the study indicated that it is unclear how it affects the offspring of the one’s who have experienced trauma. Therefore, if the SDGs are achieved, there should be positive health benefits due to the lowering of mistreatment and hate directed at different minority groups.
How can you help?
The harm that is created from racism, bigotry, homophobia, and sexism is alarming. We need to share the information that enables us to understand that actions (verbal and nonverbal) create medical issues. So, by sharing information about this topic, we all are basically facilitating a conversation where people can discuss their ideas on the subject matter. The discussion we want to hear from this article is on how different forms of hate affect health. The old dogmatic thinking that each hateful aggression only has a mental outcome , is inaccurate. Hateful aggressions cause bodily and mental harm that can have far reaching effects on generations to come, families, and ultimately societies around the globe.
