The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. There are many factors that influence these conditions, and we believe that creating more positive conditions, we can have a healthier and more caring society. Prof Crick Lund, the Co-Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health at King’s College London, and Honorary Professor in the Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health at UCT, spoke to us about this topic.