By Angelina Clapp, JMU ’20, Political Science
The Sustainable Development Goals are 17 related goals created by the United Nations in 2015. The goals, intended to be met by the year 2030, are designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.”
Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
Ensuring healthy lives and assisting in the well-being of all ages is paramount to the sustainable development of nations. Health is influenced by many factors, which may generally be organized into five broad categories known as determinants of health: genetics, behavior, environmental and physical influences, medical care and social factors. Addressing social determinants of health is a primary approach to achieving health equity. Health equity is “when everyone has the opportunity to ‘attain their full health potential’ and no one is ‘disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of their social position or other socially determined circumstance.’”
The World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health uses the following three principles to guide its work in eliminating health inequities for local communities and nations and throughout the world:
- Improve the conditions of daily life—the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.
- Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources—the structural drivers of those conditions of daily life—globally, nationally, and locally.
- Measure the problem, evaluate action, expand the knowledge base, develop a workforce that is trained in the social determinants of health, and raise public awareness about the social determinants of health.
COVID-19 Disparities
Persistent health inequalities around the world mean that people in poverty are consistently the hardest hit by disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has caused the proliferation of human suffering, destabilized the global economy and has changed the lives of billions of people around the world.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, significant strides were made in improving the health and well-being of millions of people. Life expectancy has been increasing and child and maternal mortality rates have been declining, but the pandemic threatens this progress. Ensuring the health of people globally is necessary in the acquisition of healthy and sustainable societies. Most countries in the world have insufficient healthcare systems, sparse medical supplies and burnt out health care workers due to the pandemic. States should ensure the adequate funding of health care systems, improve sanitation and hygiene, and increase access to physicians to help mitigate these issues in the future. The goal is to promote healthy lifestyles, preventative measures, and create modern and efficient healthcare for everyone. Countries can achieve this with the creation of comprehensive health strategies, increase spending on healthcare initiatives and participate in the global coordinated effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization has been leading the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and has created a strategic preparedness and response plan for countries to implement that outlines public health measures and best practices. Despite these measures, COVID-19 has devastated health care systems globally and threatens to roll back progress previously made on health goals. Childhood immunization programs have been interrupted due to the pandemic which could lead to an increase in deaths of children under the age of 5. Due to the cancellation of health services, illnesses and deaths from communicable disease will spike. Less than half of the global population has any kind of healthcare service. Lack of healthcare services leads to an increase in deaths and makes containing the virus more difficult. The most vulnerable populations include refugees and internally-displaced people, over 80% of whom are hosted in low- and middle-income countries. Limited access to water, sanitation systems, and health services increases their vulnerability to the virus. There is hope with the creation of multiple vaccines but there are still equity issues at play, including which countries get the vaccine first and the amount of vaccines countries receive.
Facts and Figures
- In 2017, only one third of the global population was covered by essential health services.
- If this current trend continues, only 39% to 63% of the global population will be covered by essential health services by 2023.
- Since March 2020, routine childhood immunizations have been completely disrupted due to the pandemic.
- An estimated 19.4 million children did not receive essential vaccinations during their first year of life.
- An additional 18 million health workers need to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
- Health service cancellations will lead to a 100% increase in malaria deaths in sub-saharan Africa.
- Nearly one-in-four deaths globally are due to environmental factors.
- 2.4 billion people around the world lack access to basic sanitation services such as toilets and latrines. 3 out of every 10 people live without safe and sanitary drinking water.
- At a global level, 7 of the 10 leading causes of deaths in 2019 were noncommunicable diseases.
- Ischaemic heart disease is responsible for 16% of the world’s total deaths. Stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the 2nd and 3rd leading causes of death,
- In 2019, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia ranked as the 7th leading cause of death. Women are disproportionately affected. Globally, 65% of deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are women.
- Deaths from noncommunicable diseases are on the rise. Trachea, bronchus and lung cancers deaths have risen from 1.2 million to 1.8 million and are now ranked 6th among leading causes of death.
- Diabetes has entered the top 10 causes of death.
- Mental, neurological and substance use disorders make up 10% of the global burden of disease and 30% of non-fatal disease burden.
Good Health & Well-Being Targets
- Reduce maternal mortality.
- End all preventable deaths under 5 years of age.
- Fight communicable diseases.
- Reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health.
- Prevent and treat substance abuse reduce road injuries and deaths.
- Universal access to sexual and reproductive care, family planning and education.
- Achieve universal healthcare coverage.
- Reduce illnesses and death from hazardous chemicals and pollution.
- Implement the WHO framework convention on tobacco control.
- Support research, development and universal access to affordable vaccines and medicines.
- Increase health financing and support health workforce in developing countries.
- Improve early warning systems for global health risks.
Take Action
- Promote and protect your own health and the health of those around you.
- Do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- Learn more and raise awareness in your community about the social determinants of health.
- Volunteer locally at the Remote Area Medical clinics.
- Join JMU Civic, Community Service-Learning and Center for Faculty Innovation for a week of learning and action to address homelessness, a public health crisis.
- Exercise your right to hold your elected officials accountable by participating in elections. (Resource for U.S. citizens on our website here.)
- Exercise your right to freedom of information. (See our information literacy resource here.)
- Express your opinion to your elected officials by writing or calling them about policies meant to alleviate inequalities in health, income, education, and other areas.
- Ask your elected officials to support the Sustainable Development Goals and advocate for the United States to participate and help achieve them.
- Support organizations working to address health inequities, like the UNHCR.
- Look into these resources from the United Nations: The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World, The UN Campaign for Individual Action, the UN’s Be the Change Initiative
Discussion Questions
- What factors influence the health and well-being of individuals and populations globally?
- How has COVID-19 affected global health?
- What measures will you take to increase health and well-being?
- How does this goal relate to the creation of a more sustainable JMU?
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