BioLaw Journal - Rivista di BioDiritto, No. 3S (2025): Social Medicine for Global Health Equity

Social medicine is now one of the most effective tools for interpreting and addressing the global health challenges of the 21st century. The United Nations 2030 Agenda and WHO strategies highlight the need for healthcare that is not only technologically advanced, but also equitable, inclusive and socially oriented. This editorial project brings together original, multidisciplinary contributions on socially relevant health issues, biomedical innovations, gender inequalities and disabilities, offering a systemic vision that links public health, bioethics, digital transformation and social justice. The topics covered in this Special editorial, proposed by professors who have long been involved in the field of social medicine, are inspired by the evolution of social and health policies that have emerged in recent years, both nationally and internationally. The achievements in the areas of “care”, “social security”, “protection and defence against disease”, “social and health security and health promotion”, although evolving towards “human enhancement”, leave many concerns regarding global assistance for the protection of people's fundamental rights. Therefore, scientific progress and unconditional trust in technological advancement require immediate and urgent moral reflection to establish the boundaries of lawful research and the limits of the application of its results. The choice of contributions by distinguished scholars in the Special Issue, on topics of doctrinal value and great topicality, set the FOCUS of the discussion on emerging issues of a new (and one might say futuristic) nature for Social Medicine at a global level, with the aim of emphasising issues that require profound consideration in order to translate the results obtained by science and technology into the most appropriate practical applications. The selected articles propose integrated models and bio-legal reflections that combine prevention, treatment and the protection of rights. Although the Special is presented in the form of “original articles”, it is systematically configured as a sequence of doctrinal reflections on a sustainable future for the protection of global health in a planetary context in serious crisis. There is no shortage of doctrinal essays, clearly reading the historical evolution of awareness of human values, which as such form the basis of the principles of modern Global Social Medicine