Improving health literacy in populations provides the foundation on which citizens are enabled to play an active role in improving their own health, engage successfully with community action for health, and push governments to meet their responsibilities in addressing health and health equity. Meeting the health literacy needs of the most disadvantaged and marginalized societies will particularly accelerate progress in reducing inequities in health and beyond.
While there is no specific target on health literacy within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), efforts to raise health literacy will be crucial in whether the social, economic, and environmental ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are fully realized. As Table 1 demonstrates, increased health literacy gained through health education and various forms of communication, as well as actions taken through health systems and other policies, have the potential to support the achievement of targets related to SDG 3 on health while advancing a wide range of other SDGs.
