La Región de las Américas, junto con el resto del mundo, se viene preparando para enfrentar los grandes retos que supone la atención de la agenda de desarrollo sostenible posterior al 2015, entre cuyos 17 objetivos se destacan la salud y el bienestar, la reducción de la inequidad y la acción sobre una amplia gama de determinantes sociales y ambientales de la salud (1). Entre las muchas lecciones aprendidas en el camino hacia el logro -esquivo, en algunos casos- de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio se destaca una primicia fundamental en estos tiempos de cambio: la primacía del principio de equidad como imperative ético para orientar, informar y definir las prioridades de la acción política en materia de salud y bienestar.

The Region of the Americas, together with the rest of the world, is preparing to face the major challenges presented by the post-2015 sustainable development agenda (SDA), whose 17 objectives include health and well-being, the reduction of inequity, and action on a wide range of social and environmental determinants of health (1). In these times of change, the first of many lessons learned on the road toward achieving-or in some cases, not achieving-the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is that the principle of equity is an ethical imperative essential to guiding, informing, and defining political priorities for action on health and well-being.

This article analyzes the dynamic interaction between the Health in All Policies (HiAP) agenda and the ongoing implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, held in Rio de Janeiro in October 2011, the Rio Political Declaration pledged to use HiAP as a mechanism to address health inequities. In 2014, the Ministers of Health of the Region of the Americas approved a regional Plan of Action of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that sought to call attention to the health consequences and benefits of policies and actions developed by other sectors.

Human activities are causing unprecedented changes in the climate, and threatening environmental processes. This may seem a simple statement, but in order to make it, a great amount of scientific information was necessary. There is overwhelming evidence of the burden of disease from environmental risks (1). This burden is expected to increase with the changing climate. Anthropogenic drivers have been detected throughout the climate system and are extremely likely to be the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century (2). This rapid changing climate poses direct human health challenges, and also indirect health effects due to disruptions and shifts in the services provided by the ecosystems (3). 

Objective: To identify reported interventions that facilitate sustainable development and have had a positive impact on health in four areas: sustainable food production; sustainable energy use; sustainable jobs ("decent work"); and prevention of toxic exposure to chemicals.