Resources

This year marks the fourth anniversary of the launch of GSCF’s Charter for Environmentally Sustainable Self-Care, the first climate action resolution from the consumer health sector.

Our vision of a healthier world recognizes environmental security is essential to achieving better health outcomes and emphasizes self-care is a key driver for both. The consumer health industry is uniquely positioned to make a positive long-term impact, and GSCF’s Charter provides a flexible, inclusive framework for continued collective action. Through initiatives such as the Blister Packs Task Force, the sector is laying the groundwork for sustainability strategies that will shape a healthier and more sustainable future for all. Since its launch in 2021, the relevance of the Charter has only grown, affirming the need for unified and sustained collective action to meet evolving environmental challenges.

In 2025, significant political developments and multilateral processes continued to shape global environmental and health policies. The UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July marked a critical moment for assessing mid-decade progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and identifying areas requiring accelerated action. At the 78th World Health Assembly, member states advanced discussions on climate change and health, with a continued focus on strengthening resilient, low-carbon health systems and protecting vulnerable populations from climate-related risks.

The G20 Summit, hosted by South Africa, underscored the interconnected challenges of climate change, sustainable development and global equity. And COP30 in Belém, Brazil, centered global attention on climate finance, nature-based solutions and the protection of critical ecosystems, particularly in the Global South.

Responsible self-care, a complementary pillar of strong health systems, empowers individuals to stay healthy, prevent disease and manage illness effectively, supporting longer, healthier and more productive lives. 

The WHO defines self-care as the ability of individuals to promote health, prevent disease, maintain wellbeing and manage illness, with or without the support of a healthcare professional. GSCF’s updated Economic and Social Impact study shows that responsible self-care delivers substantial and measurable social and economic benefits across allhealth system contexts. As such, self-care has an important role to play in meeting global aspirations for universal health coverage (UHC).

As individuals, we can reduce unnecessary visits to the doctor by taking non-prescription
treatments for common conditions such as migraines, allergies, coughs, colds and sore throats. We can also manage some of our own preventative care, such as taking vitamins, minerals and supplements, stopping smoking, improving oral health and preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In many cases, this self-care might be the only healthcare available due to limited primary healthcare infrastructure, making it essential. For others, managing our own health is timely, convenient and removes an unnecessary burden from our health systems. This is important, because fiscal consolidation, workforce shortages and multilateral restructuring have all put increasing pressure on health systems, particularly when combined with aging populations, infectious disease burden and the growing prevalence of NCD’s.

A new GSCF report will present evidence showing there is as much as 50% more potential still to be unlocked by 2040. This briefing outlines where we are today. The full report, to be launched in May, will show the full potential of self-care interventions, and what policy decisions are needed to realise that potential.

This Impact Report reflects a year of meaningful progress and transition for the Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF), as we advanced our mission to position self-care as an essential pillar of resilient, person-centred health systems worldwide. Guided by the launch of our 2025–2028 Strategy, the Federation strengthened its foundations, expanded its global engagement, and delivered concrete impact across policy, regulatory, and partnership priorities.

The past year marked an important phase of organisational evolution for GSCF. We implemented key governance reforms, including the establishment of a new Executive Committee, completed our transition to Geneva, and created an informal Heads of Associations group to strengthen strategic coordination across our membership. These changes have positioned the Federation to operate with greater agility and influence at a time of significant transformation in global health governance—shaped by WHO reform, geopolitical uncertainty, and mounting economic pressures.

Against this backdrop, GSCF has continued to elevate the role of self-care within global health policy. At the UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and throughout negotiations on the Political Declaration, the Federation played a central role in securing recognition of self-care as a critical enabler of access, empowerment, and health system sustainability. 

Our United for Self-Care Coalition expanded with two new members and advanced a more unified NCD agenda, while engagement at WHA78, including collaboration with WHO on the Be Healthy, Be Mobile initiative, and across WHO Regional Committees helped embed self-care more firmly in national and global strategies.