This week at WHO headquarters in Geneva, close to 400 young leaders from more than 40 countries sounded the alarm on loneliness calling it “a public health priority shaping our generation’s future”. They urged governments to recognize the serious health risks of social disconnection – which include social isolation and loneliness – and called for action to strengthen social connection and mental well-being.
“Social connection is the missing pillar of global health,” said Ida Marchese, Director-General of the Global Model WHO 2025. “Our generation has grown up in an age of digital connection but social disconnection. This declaration is our call to rebuild communities where every person feels seen, valued and supported.”
At the closing ceremony of the second in-person Global Model WHO (GMWHO), all delegates adopted the Global Model WHO Youth Declaration on Social Connection. The declaration calls for national strategies, community investments, and inclusive digital policies that foster belonging and reduce loneliness.
The Global Model WHO is a partnership initiative between WHO and the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). It simulates the World Health Assembly, the world’s health decision-making body, giving young leaders the opportunity to debate and draft resolutions on issues including mental health, vaccine hesitancy, health and migration, digital health and artificial intelligence.
Over four days, six youth delegates from each WHO region discussed policies and community strategies inspired by the WHO Commission on Social Connection, which highlights social connection as a vital yet overlooked pillar of well-being.
“When you return home, carry this spirit of connection with you. Bring it to your families, your schools, your communities. Together, by building stronger human bonds, we can create healthier societies,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
WFUNA Secretary-General Aziel Goulandris commended the delegates’ efforts, noting that the declaration “shows the power of youth diplomacy to shape healthier societies. Connection strengthens not only individuals but the global systems we rely on. The world cannot achieve health for all without social health for all.”
The simulation also echoed findings from the WHO Commission on Social Connection, co-chaired by Dr Vivek Murthy (19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States of America) and Ms Chido Mpemba (Special Advisor on Youth and Women to the African Union Chairperson). The Commission's report identified that loneliness affects one in six people worldwide, with rates highest among younger people and in lower-income countries, contributing to 871 000 deaths annually.
By transforming awareness into advocacy, GMWHO youth delegates reaffirmed that mental and social health are interdependent, and that inclusion, empathy, and participation are as vital to global health as medicine or technology.
“By acting with empathy, courage, and intentionality, we can transform isolation into belonging, silence into conversation, and indifference into collective care,” the declaration reads.