Sustainable Development

Many sustainable development strategies can offer significant wins for health, climate and the environment, and the benefits can be seen almost immediately. For example, many health and development goals can be achieved simultaneously by tackling air pollution, which is responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually. Polluting emissions include powerful short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs)—particularly black carbon, ozone and methane—which are very harmful to health but have only brief atmospheric lifetimes.

ustainable development is a broad term to describe policies, projects and investments that provide benefits today without sacrificing environmental, social and personal health in the future. These policies are often described as green because they focus on limiting the impact of development on the environment. However, the benefits of sustainable development are also felt across a wide cross section of human health and well-being, including reductions in pollution- and environment-related disease, improved health outcomes and decreased stress.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs, also known as the Global Goals) are 17 goals with 169 targets that all UN Member States have agreed to work towards achieving by the year 2030.

They set out a vision for a world free from poverty, hunger and disease.

Health has a central place in SDG 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, underpinned by 13 targets that cover a wide spectrum of WHO’s work.

Almost all of the other 16 goals are related to health or their achievement will contribute to health indirectly.

WHO’s work is guided by the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” The Goals inform projects and policies across the Organization, including guidelines on housing, urban development, transportation systems and health care delivery.

1  End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2  End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3  Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4  Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5  Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6  Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7  Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births.

3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births.

3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.