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Trying to improve the health of everyone on the planet is the aim of the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, which last year replaced the Millennium Development Goals. The first analysis of the SDGs has put places like Iceland and Singapore at the top and war-torn Syria and South Sudan at the bottom. Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, says the targets provide a good basis for planning where to invest scarce resources. In countries like Chile healthcare can be expensive those who can’t afford private medicine join long waiting lists to see doctors in the state subsidized system. But some of those who are fed up with delays are opting for traditional Mapuche medicine - despite there being no published evidence that it really works. Having a “good cry” can make us feel better - but what other impact can watching a weepy film have on our bodies? A new study by researchers from Oxford University suggests it also increases our pain threshold. People who watched a sad film had a 13% increase in their tolerance to pain – and they felt more bonded with their fellow audience members. (Photo: Global Health © Thinkstock)