Health

Through multidisciplinary research and policy engagement we bring new understanding and action on critical issues around health and health systems, and how they overlap with other systems such as food, as well as nutrition, sanitation, epidemics and zoonotic diseases.  Enhancing understanding of how to ensure healthy lives for all is a vital part of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030) and has been an integral focus of IDS’ work since its inception.

Our research and analysis on innovations in health services and systems – including work on identifying effective strategies to address the challenges of antimicrobial resistance – is accelerating progress towards achieving universal health coverage in Asia and Africa. Our work on nutrition spans the spectrum from dietary transition and globalisation of food systems, through to responding to the ways that marginalisation and inequity drive high child malnutrition rates.  We bring vital social knowledge to aid effective preparedness and response on pandemics. We show how direct impacts on the spread of diseases such as Ebola can be achieved by bringing learning from research on social issues and contexts to the right people in the right organisations at the right time.  Together with our global partners, we are generating and sharing new knowledge and evidence to identify the underlying causes of poor health and social inequalities, and the progressive policies and practices that can help bring about transformative change.

People

Gerald Bloom

Research Fellow

Hayley MacGregor

Research Fellow

Nicholas Nisbett

Research Fellow

Tom Barker

Senior Health & Nutrition Convenor

Melissa Leach

Emeritus Fellow

Annie Wilkinson

Health and Nutrition Cluster Lead

Linda Waldman

Director of Teaching and Learning

Inka Barnett

Health and Nutrition Cluster Lead

Programmes and centres

Recent work

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Showing 1–12 of 15317 results

Upcoming Event

Food Equity Centre

Power relationships and aquaculture livelihoods in Vietnam

Join us for this seminar that explores different kinds of power relationships that influence people’s access to resources, livelihood options and sustainability outcomes. This seminar looks at a case study of aquaculture production systems in northern Vietnam and the power relationships...

15 July 2025

Upcoming Event

Dignity in development: Evidence and gaps in respecting people worldwide

The development sector proclaims that it values dignity. Yet it often breaks this promise, with people leaving encounters with charities feeling bruised and unseen. In this seminar, Tom Wein examines dignity as a core value around the world, drawing on his in-progress research for the future...

19 June 2025

Upcoming Event

CEDCA Panel: Powering change: Women, youth, and the clean energy revolution

In this virtual panel event, we will bring together experts from various regions to address a critical challenge of our time: ensuring that women and youth are not left behind in the global transition to clean energy. Gender equity needs to be at the centre of clean energy policies or...

12 June 2025

Upcoming Event

Social Protection: Financing in crises

Join us to explore how social protection can be better financed in protracted crises. This event shares new research findings and brings together key voices to discuss current challenges, funding gaps, and what needs to change ahead of the upcoming Financing for Development...

12 June 2025

Upcoming Event

Multilateralism at a crossroads

Join this high-level event Multilateralism at a crossroads: Transforming challenges into opportunities for a sustainable future, with senior representatives from Brazil, South Africa and Spain, along with expert speakers for discussion and Q&A. Multilateralism is facing significant...

4 June 2025

News

ICTD Launches new Community of Practice on Informality and Tax

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), based at the Institute of Development Studies, is launching a Community of Practice (CoP) on Informality and Tax, a global network of practitioners and scholars committed to improving both knowledge and policy on how tax authorities engage...

28 May 2025

Brief

Key considerations: Introducing experimental vaccines during health emergencies

SSHAP Briefing

This brief provides an overview of the experimental stages of vaccine development during a disease outbreak and highlights key considerations at each stage from a social science perspective. This brief complements a recent SSHAP publication that synthesised social and behavioural science (SBS)...

28 May 2025

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).

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