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Reducing variation in health outcomes, i.e. reducing health inequities, is therefore central to improving both the ability of populations to cope with disruption and the set point of health system performance. Without urgent and systemic intervention, existing health inequities will widen, with the potential to reverse the health and development gains of the last 50 years ("Human Development Report 2011- Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All | United Nations Development Programme" [13]). A comprehensive presentation of the economic case for preventative medicine is beyond the remit of this essay, but simple statistics illustrate the point: public health expenditure can be more than 3 times more productive than health treatment expenditure; £1 spent on preventative healthcare may generate a £14-15 return to the health and social care economy ("The Economics of Preventative Healthcare | Economics By Design" [10]). This essay will consider the meaning of resilience in healthcare and argue that health inequities are critical determinants of health system fragility. [Extracted from the article]

Existing frameworks for interpreting and acting upon the health consequences of climate change fail to engage with the multiple and complex forms of loss and damage that Indigenous peoples experience to their health and wellbeing in a changing climate. Using a case study of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, we call for a new research agenda that foregrounds Indigenous peoples' collective, relational perspectives on health and wellbeing in order to better conceptualise the health implications of climate change. The agenda builds understanding and recognition of intangible loss and damages, bringing multiple knowledge systems and worldviews into conversation to drive adaptation that not only safeguards but also promotes the visions Indigenous peoples have for their health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eldercare professionals engaged in precarious work in the Netherlands faced shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, and staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study of the health, financial situations, and paid and unpaid caring responsibilities of freelance eldercare workers illustrates how labor market inequalities have been (re)produced and exacerbated during the pandemic. Freelancers were pushed toward the margins of the labor market, working risky shifts and compromising their own interests, while unprotected by organizations, social security, or political efforts. Consequently, these workers were stretched to limits where they could no longer attend to their own health or to their paid and unpaid care responsibilities. The study places these empirical findings within Nancy Fraser and Rahel Jaeggi's theoretical work on capitalism, illustrating how eldercare workers found themselves at the center of boundary struggles during the pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS In the Netherlands, paid eldercare workers increasingly opt for freelance care work. During the pandemic freelance eldercare workers were seen as a health risk for clients. Some lost assignments; others were asked to work with insufficient PPE. As a result, many struggled with moral and financial dilemmas. Unions and other players in the Netherlands hold conflicting views on freelancers in eldercare. These views stand in the way of building an alliance to enhance the situations of all working in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is essential to the provision of humanitarian aid, from operating medical and non-medical equipment, to storing vaccines and drugs. In the last decades, the contexts of intervention of humanitarian actors are getting more complex and volatile, sometimes leading to longer project lifespans. To respond to this evolving context, and at the same time to try to cope with the global ecological crisis, humanitarian actors are proposing new strategies toward more sustainable energy solutions in their operations. However, there is a lack of reflection regarding how energy is conceived and used in the humanitarian response. With the aim of shedding light on these issues, we take the case of Médecins Sans Frontières, a medical humanitarian organization who is rethinking its traditional logics of energy planning. The results reveal that even if some transformative approaches to energy are emerging in the humanitarian field, they face several challenges when putting them into practice. Challenges related to effectiveness and flexibility, core concerns of the humanitarian aid. The work invites to a deeper look at the plurality of those challenges, aiming to gain better understanding on the relationship between energy and society and its operational impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]