Culture, Community, and Trust: Strengthening Quality Health Information for All

Access to quality health information is one of the main determinants of health. The preamble to the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) states that "informed opinion and active co-operation on the part of the public are of the utmost importance in the improvement of the health of the people.

Quality health information (QHI) is important well beyond infectious diseases, addressing factors vital to human health and wellbeing, such as nutrition, physical activity, injury prevention and mental health. It is crucial to the prevention and appropriate management of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and for addressing the social, political and commercial determinants that lead to health disparities and inequitable health outcomes.
The Nature Portfolio, jointly with the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Practice, has launched in 2025 the first-ever global Commission on Quality Health Information for All, a landmark, expert-led and internationally driven initiative. The Commission's objectives are two-fold. First, to 'promote equitable access to quality information that is complete, accurate, timely and informed by evidence, and to support efforts to facilitate informed decisions about health and wellbeing of the population'.

The Commission is editorially independent, science-driven, and designed to influence policy and decision-making, bringing together interdisciplinary stakeholders across academia, policy, and practice. Its work recognizes that information is a fundamental determinant of health in the digital age.

The Commission aims to generate robust evidence and actionable recommendations to address gaps in access to reliable health information, while advancing health literacy, equity, and trust. The Commission seeks to:
• Quantify the impact of limited access to quality health information on health outcomes and economic growth
• Promote equitable access to accurate, reliable information in the digital era
• Strengthen health literacy globally
• Establish health communication as a distinct and critical discipline

UNICEF Role as a member of the Commission
UNICEF, through its Social and Behaviour Change global guidance, recognise the critical role of providing quality health information to all populations, as one of the key determinants for health outcomes. At the same time, it is acknowkedged that people are highly emotional and influenced by their culture and environment, by those who matter to them and by others they interact with. Human behaviours are much more complex. In many instances, people do not simply consider the benefits and costs of a choice and then make a rational decision on the best course of action. Making the public more aware of an issue can be important in creating an environment conducive for change, but running effective campaigns is quite difficult (Kahan, 2013; Lilienfeld and Arkowitz, 2014). In this context, social and behaviour change programming should always consist in multi-faceted strategies and tactics winning people's hearts and minds, but also winning the crowd and shaping the environment to induce positive actions (Bandura, 2001; Bronfenbrenner, 1994; Golden et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2017; Pajares, 2002; Rogers, 2010).

By joining the Commission, UNICEF is aiming to contribute to the evidence generated by the Commission, bridging its programmatic expertise as well as the recent evidence collected across the world. The recommendations generated by the Commission are expected to elevate the role of SBC in enhancing health systems and achieving sustainable change, including:
· Increased relevance and quality of public health action: policies, services, programmes, processes, and products better respond to population needs, including during Public Health Emergencies.
· Increased health system resilience: perception of inclusiveness and equity, active participation and partnership, improved relationship with populations and higher satisfaction bolster trust in health authorities and health workers as the foundation to adapt to future shocks.
· Increased community systems resilience: strengthened social connections, social capital and cohesion bolster collective ownership and self-efficacy as the foundation to future shocks, including outbreaks.

The Commission's Working Groups:
The Commission has established 5 working groups with experts from different organizations and fields:
- Culture
- Media
- Technology
- Quality
- Protection

UNICEF, through its Global Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) team, has recently joined the Commission as a member, with experts contributing to different working groups, with a focus on the Culture, Quality and Protection. In particular, UNICEF co-chairs the 1st group on Culture, as per its long-lasting experience and leadership on community engagement, community system strengthening and social and behavior change.
Key thematic areas to be studied include:
- Understanding cultural contexts in interpreting scientific evidence
- Differentiating the roles of traditional, digital, and social media
- Developing Health Information Quality Indicators (HIQI)
- Leveraging AI to improve access and trust in health information
- Protecting freedom of expression and human rights