From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies
File(s)
Author(s)
Lolas Stepke, Fernando
WHO Commission on Social Connection
El-Osta, Austen
Type
Report
Abstract
This landmark report from the WHO Commission on Social Connection highlights that social isolation and loneliness are widespread, with serious but under-recognized impacts on health, well-being, and society. Drawing on the latest evidence, the report makes a compelling case for urgent action. It outlines practical, scalable solutions to strengthen social connection – and calls on policy-makers, researchers and all sectors to treat social health with the same urgency as physical and mental health. The Commissioners envision a future where stronger social bonds improve well-being, reduce preventable deaths, boost education and economic resilience, and ease the social and financial burden of disconnection. This report is a call to act – and an invitation to build a more connected, healthier world.
Date Issued
2025-06-30
Citation
From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies - Report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection, 2025, pp.173-174
ISBN
978-92-4-011236-0
Publisher
SciELO Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID)
Start Page
173
End Page
174
Journal / Book Title
From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies - Report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection
Volume
32
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© World Health Organization 2025 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. If you create a translation of this work, you should add the following disclaimer along with the suggested citation: “This translation was not created by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition”.
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2026-06