After months of negotiations, world leaders have officially signed off on the new Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations.
These 17 ambitious goals with 169 targets cover everything from improving health and wellbeing, eliminating poverty and hunger, gender equality, climate action, clean energy and water, along with economic growth. They’re effectively a development blueprint for governments through until 2030 and will build on the achievements already realized through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were set in 2000.
Vital Strategies (VS) is especially focused on Goal 3: Ensure good health and promote wellbeing for all. For the first time, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are included in global goals, recognizing their importance as a development priority.
VS programs work directly towards many targets within Goal 3, including strengthen the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in all countries.
Meanwhile at the country level, we’ve launched tobacco control mass media campaigns in over 25 countries, raising awareness about the harms of smoking and we’ve lobbied governments to implement tougher tobacco control laws. All governments should not only ratify the FCTC, but should use revenue from taxes on tobacco to fund development priorities. The SDGs also aim to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020 – Vital Strategies is implementing road safety initiatives in 10 cities around the world, starting in Bogotá. And by 2030, the SDGs look to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to less than 12 per 1,000 live births. Our maternal health and family planning initiative in Africa is helping raise awareness about maternal health among expectant mothers, building rural health centers and training health workers.
There is a great deal of work ahead and it is now up to governments and organizations like VS to help make the new sustainable development goals a reality.