Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(September 25th, 2015, New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation (WLF) congratulates governments around the world on the adoption today of the post-2015 development agenda at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York.
Underlining the fundamental dependency between health and wellbeing, environmental protection, social development, and prosperity, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include targets on reducing maternal mortality, reducing by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases, halving global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes, ensuring universal access to health services including family planning, and reducing illness and death from air pollution and tobacco use.
WLF is committed to helping governments develop policy, implement interventions and build sustainable capacity in many of these areas.
“The post-2015 development agenda marks a victory for governments and global health advocates around the world,” said Mr. José Luis Castro, President and CEO of World Lung Foundation and The Union North America.
“So many individuals have worked tirelessly towards mapping out this historic path towards greater prosperity and equality for all the world’s people. Indeed, it’s essential that we remember these targets are the responsibility of each and every country. Wealthier nations can help by sharing expertise, providing assistance and helping to make access to vaccines and medicines easier and more affordable.
“Global health experts and scientific and civil society organizations – like WLF – can also play a critical role in providing financial and technical assistance to help governments implement proven interventions and develop sustainable capacity.”
Mr. Castro continued: “Significant health problems have an economic impact irrespective of the current wealth of a nation. Where malnutrition continues to take an unacceptable toll in low income countries, obesity is increasing the burden of preventable disease and premature death in many countries, irrespective of whether they are low, middle, or high income. Problems like air pollution and poor road safety continue to claim too many lives and tobacco remains one of the world’s leading causes of death.
“Indeed, we urge governments to ratify and fully implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control if they have not already done so, and increase tobacco taxes to help fund sustainable development programs, as agreed in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda earlier this year.
“The tobacco industry, in particular, frequently tries to persuade governments that health should take a back seat to its business interests, but of all the SDG goals, tobacco control is one of the easiest to implement thanks to the proven interventions already set out under FCTC. Tackling tobacco in this way enables governments to concentrate on other issues.
“The post-2015 development agenda should finally drive home the message that sacrificing public health concerns for the sake of industry profit is a false economy, because healthy, economically active citizens are critical to every country’s development and economic growth,” he concluded.
A commitment to health
The strategic development goals – ratified today in New York – include a specific goal for health, SDG 3, which commits to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” Within this goal are targets covering the range of global health priorities including reducing preventable maternal and child death, ending communicable disease epidemics, reducing the epidemic of non-communicable diseases and road traffic fatalities, addressing the harmful use of alcohol, and achieving universal health coverage (UHC). Further issues with a significant impact on health are covered in other goals, including those on achieving gender equality, assuring sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, reducing air pollution, promoting sustainable urban development, and ending hunger.
WLF particularly recognizes the contribution of the NCD Alliance in the inclusion of specific targets regarding non-communicable diseases in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. NCDs – namely cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, and mental and neurological disorders – are today responsible for the majority of the global disease burden, killing approximately 38 million people every year. While all countries are affected, developing countries are hit the hardest. Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for the four main NCDs and in many countries there is a higher level of tobacco use among people living with mental health issues, compared with the general population.