I have selected the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) that could significantly improve global health: SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being. The vulnerable population I will focus on is maternal and infant health in developing regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. In these regions, pregnant women and young children continue to face substantial health risks and barriers to quality care, leading to disproportionately high rates of mortality and morbidity compared to global averages.
Maternal health challenges are exemplified by a dismayingly high maternal mortality ratio, with over 200 deaths per 100,000 live births on average across the region. This sobering figure is primarily driven by preventable and treatable complications like uncontrolled bleeding (postpartum haemorrhage), infections, unsafe abortion practices, and eclampsia. Limited access to skilled birth attendants and timely emergency obstetric care continue to contribute to unacceptably high mortality rates. The situation can become dire rapidly without the ability to manage crisis events.
For infants and children under 5, average mortality remains a significant issue at 76 deaths per 1,000 live births, over 15 times higher than rates seen in developed regions. Leading causes of these premature deaths are preterm birth complications, pneumonia acquired early in life, diarrhoea from unsanitary conditions, malaria contracted from high-risk mosquito populations, and varying degrees of malnutrition weakening immunity. Growth stunting affects over 30% of young children, with effects that can last a lifetime. Taken together, life’s first months and years carry inordinate dangers (United Nations, 2023).
More progress on maternal and child health is needed through cracked-down efforts on education, sexual health, prenatal care access, clinical infrastructure, family planning support, immunization drives, nutrition supplementation, public health campaigns, and surveillance. No one solution will rectify such complex challenges rooted in poverty and instability. But, collective action targeting high-risk areas and demographics could bend the curve to save families across generations.
These poor health outcomes stem from severe shortages in health workers, infrastructure, equipment, and supplies, creating barriers to timely, quality care. Out-of-pocket costs also deter care-seeking. Discrimination towards women further limits agency in health decisions. The interlinked challenges of high mortality causes, health system weaknesses, financial hardship, and gender inequity result in a disproportionate disease burden for mothers and infants compared to global averages (General (OSG), 2020).
SDG 3 aims to reduce this burden through specific 2030 targets on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health. These include reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births, decreasing neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births, and ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age. Meeting these targets would save over 50 million children’s lives and around 3 million women’s lives compared to 2016 rates. SDG 3 represents an evidence-based global strategy with immense potential to transform health outcomes. Expanding access to quality care services is essential for meeting SDG 3, but is currently underfunded. Aid has already shown results – from 2003 to 2018, MNCH disbursements rose over four times from $2.6 billion to $10.5 billion, accompanied by mortality rate declines (General (OSG), 2020).
In summary, SDG 3 and its sharp focus on improving MNCH is highly relevant and impactful for pregnant women and infants facing profound health threats in developing countries. Global solidarity through increased investments is crucially needed to help overcome barriers to quality care for the world’s most vulnerable mothers and children.
References
General (OSG), O. of the S. (2020). STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS: IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH AND REDUCING MATERNAL MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. US Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568218/
United Nations. (2023). Goal 3: Ensure Healthy Lives and Promote well-being for All Ages. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/health/
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