Sufficiency health-wise: sustainable paths towards planetary and public health

Abstract

Planet Earth is threatened by the human population. Energy and resource use are far beyond the planet's carrying capacity. Planetary Health suggests an alternative idea of prosperity as the best possible human health for all within planetary boundaries. This implies giving priority to ecology because human health depends ultimately on the integrity of the global biosphere. This paper presents a Health Sufficiency Framework, based on the Doughnut Economics Model. It is meant to fuel discussions on delicate topics of the required transformations of health care and public health.

Keywords: health system-organization and administration; notions of health and wellbeing; planetary health; structural prevention; sustainability.

Figure 1

Health sufficiency framework. The figure shows orientations for health care within planetary boundaries inside the yellow ring. Based on the doughnut economic framework, they lie between a necessary social foundation that ensures good health care for all and the ecological ceiling that should not be exceeded by human resource use and environmental pollution. While the black features identify largely consensual aspects, the red ones within the inner circle indicate determinants of health that are not widely accepted or are often neglected. The red features in the outer circle indicate treatment options and practices that require societal debate.