California First Partner Co-Hosts Vatican Summit on Social Connection as a Public-Health Priority
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom recently co-hosted a summit in Vatican City with Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, urging that social connection and a sense of belonging be treated as an urgent public-health priority. The summit treated loneliness as a health risk that should not be overlooked, citing a World Health Organization estimate that about 1 in 6 people worldwide experience loneliness. Participants included Cardinal Peter Turkson, Josh Fryday of GO-Serve, and California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson. The release also noted that California established a Social Health Council in August 2026 to promote social connection and belonging among residents at the state level.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Photo: Diliff via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
