Cardiff Met Academics Help Shape Global WHO Health Policy

Academics from Cardiff Metropolitan University are playing a leading role in influencing international health policy, contributing to new global guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) aimed at tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Researchers from the University’s Centre for Health, Activity and Wellbeing Research (CAWR) co-authored the opening chapter of a major new WHO policy guide designed to help governments build healthier, fairer and more sustainable societies.

The guide — Implementing the Global Framework on Well-being at Country Level: Policy Pathways — addresses what the WHO describes as a global “poly-crisis”: the combined and overlapping pressures of climate change, widening social inequalities, environmental degradation and political instability. Read the full WHO publication.

Developed in response to the Geneva Charter for Wellbeingnd produced in collaboration with EuroHealthNet and experts from across Europe, the publication provides governments with practical policy pathways to create “wellbeing societies”. Rather than measuring progress solely through GDP, the framework encourages nations to prioritise health, inclusion, environmental sustainability and long-term resilience.

Professor Diane Crone, Dr Kate Isherwood, Dr Rachel Sumner, Dr Jenny Mercer, Chris Wallis and Paul Sellars authored the chapter, ‘Nurturing Planet Earth and its ecosystems’. Their contribution explores the essential link between human health and the natural environment, setting out practical, evidence-based steps Ministers of Health and international policy makers can take to protect both their people and the planet.

CAWR’s involvement highlights Cardiff Met’s growing international reputation for applied research that informs global policy and delivers tangible impact beyond academia.

By contributing to this landmark WHO publication, the team has helped shape guidance that will support countries worldwide in rethinking how societies measure success — placing wellbeing at the heart of decision-making.

Their work demonstrates how research at Cardiff Met continues to drive meaningful, real-world change on a global scale.