Opinion

Loneliness and isolation: the hidden threat to global health

When people become disconnected from others, it can set in motion a cascade of health problems, both physical and mental. This disconnection is becoming more common. We need to wake up to it.

img
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chido Mpemba, and Vivek Murthy
last update on

Loneliness and isolation: the hidden threat to global health

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chido Mpemba, and Vivek Murthy
last update on

Around the world, an invisible threat is increasing the risk of disease, shortening lives and fraying the fabric of our communities. Between 2014 and 2019, it was associated with more than 871,000 deaths annually, or 100 deaths every hour. That killer in the shadows? Social disconnection.

When a person lacks sufficient social contact, feels unsupported in their existing relationships, or experiences negative or strained connections, they become socially disconnected. It is an increasingly serious danger to physical and mental health and wellbeing, yet it is one that is often overlooked.

There are several forms of social disconnection, including loneliness and social isolation. Today, nearly one in six people globally report feeling lonely. Among adolescents, young adults, and those living in low-income countries, the rate is even higher. We now have irrefutable evidence that social health—our ability to form and maintain meaningful human connections—is just as essential to our wellbeing as physical and mental health. Yet for too long, it has been ignored by health systems and policymakers alike.

Charting a path

A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Commission on Social Connection, published at the end of June, follows the World Health Assembly’s first ever adoption of a resolution on social connection. The Commission’s report marks a turning point for this serious global health threat and highlights the need for decisive leadership and action. It charts a clear path forward with evidence-based strategies to reverse this scourge and strengthen the bonds that allow individuals and societies to thrive.

Humans are hardwired for connection. From our earliest years, relationships shape our brains, emotions, and chances of living a healthy life. Conversely, disconnection—whether through loneliness or social isolation—can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, dementia, and premature death. It can also result in poor school and work performance, costing economies and societies billions every year.

Humans are hardwired for connection. Relationships shape our brains, emotions, and chances of living a healthy life

The good news is that solutions exist. The Commission's report outlines interventions that work. Successful examples abound. They include peer-to-peer support for low-income older people in South Africa, 'social prescribing' of activities (like storytelling and gardening) to older adults in Korea, encouraging small acts of kindness in Australia, the UK, and the US, integrating social connection into policies covering mental health or ageing in countries such as Djibouti, Albania, and Spain, or creating new and specific policies in countries like Denmark, Germany, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Action needed

We call on all countries to prioritise social connection. This is not just about personal health and wellbeing; it is a cornerstone of economic prosperity, national resilience and social cohesion. Societies that foster trust and connection are more innovative, more secure, and better able to respond to crises. The COVID-19 pandemic brought this truth into stark relief. As lockdowns forced physical separation, the human need for connection became unmistakable—and so did the costs of its absence.

The WHO Commission proposes a global roadmap built around policy, research, interventions, measurement, and engagement. It calls for social connection to be integrated into health, education, and labour agendas, urging states to invest in research to better understand what works, scale-up culturally relevant and cost-effective interventions, collect better data to track the problem and measure progress, and build a global movement to change attitudes and reduce stigma.

It is critical that this movement includes the voices of those who have endured the pain of loneliness and social isolation, because they understand what real solutions look like. As leaders, we cannot afford to remain passive. Every day we delay is another day of lost potential, unnecessary suffering and preventable death. But if we act boldly, collaboratively, and compassionately, and on a large scale, we can build healthier, more connected, and more resilient societies. Social health is not a luxury. It is a human need. And now, more than ever, it must be a political priority.

font change

Related topics loneliness isolation Mental Health Health risks