The Future of Health Promotion

Forty years after the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion shifted global health from treating disease to creating the conditions for health, its principles remain highly relevant but require renewal in response to today’s interconnected challenges. Climate change, conflict, demographic change, digital transformation, and widening inequalities are reshaping the social, environmental, economic, and digital determinants of health and well-being.

Building resilient societies requires strengthening the Ottawa Charter’s foundations of equity, participation, intersectoral action, and supportive environments while recognizing mental well-being as both an outcome of these conditions and a resource that enables individuals and communities to adapt, participate, and thrive. Today, supportive environments extend beyond physical settings to include digital spaces, where trust, connection, and access to reliable information increasingly influence health.

New evidence from Gallup’s State of the World’s Emotional Health 2025 highlights the close links between emotional well-being, social trust, peace, and population health, while also underscoring the growing influence of social media as an increasingly important environment shaping mental health and well-being. Complementing these findings, the Global Listening Project demonstrates the value of listening to people’s lived experiences to inform more responsive policies and interventions. Together, these perspectives offer an opportunity to reimagine health promotion for the next generation—placing people, participation, and resilient communities at the heart of healthier societies.