Identify and discuss the influence of sustainable development on public health - Essay Example

Next, it highlights the positive impact that sustainable health has on public health and how sustainable social, economic and environmental development can help in improving public health in a stable manner. Development is integral to the modern world, but if the development is not sustainable, it is possible that the entire balance of the system may go awry. Hence, it is necessary to ensure that development is sustainable. While most discussions related to sustainable development focus on how it effects the environment and society, it is also necessary to understand that it has an impact on public health.

Rio Declaration of 1992 on Environment Development by the United Nations states that as human beings are in the center of all issues related to sustainable development, it is necessary that they remain healthy and in tandem with nature (United Nations, 1992). Therefore, public health is a critical feature of any sustainable development policy. Health and well-being are the pivots around which economical, socio-political and environmental stability centers around, as shown in the figure below (Price and Dube, 1997). 3. Unsustainable environmental development can lead to degradation of the natural environment because of spread of toxic residues from wastes, climate change and depletion of natural resources.

Some examples include Climate change can result in floods, water related diseases, change in temperature patterns and loss of fertile land/natural harbors. Health wise, it can lead to skin cancer, higher concentration of toxic elements in the air, leading to respiratory diseases and skin diseases (Griffiths and Stewart, 2007) 4. Unsustainable economic development will result in unequal distribution of the resources - with some segments of the society getting all the benefits, where as with some others struggling for the resources.

It can also result in overconsumption and