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  Why does it matter?

  Why does it matter?

  • It is in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the right to health, wellbeing and medical care is enshrined, and specific reference is made to care and assistance for motherhood and childhood. 

    With 13 targets and 28 indicators, SDG3 is one of the more complex goals, addressing health needs across a variety of challenges: 

    • Maternal, neonatal and under-five childhood mortality 
    • Communicable disease, including HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, Hepatitis B and other neglected tropical diseases 
    • Premature mortality from non-communicable disease (NCDs), including mental illness 
    • Drug and alcohol substance abuse, and tobacco control 
    • Accidental mortality, particular road traffic accidents 
    • Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including family planning 
    • Universal health coverage (UHC), access to essential medicines and vaccines for all 
    • Mortality from hazardous chemicals, air, water and soil pollution 
    • Health workforce development 
    • Early warning, risk reduction and emergency preparedness 

    While good progress is being made, for most targets and indicators, progress is too slow. In the WHO's World Health Statistics 2022, gains made in maternal and under-five child health have led to mortality ratio declines of 40% and 60% respectively in two decades. As communicable disease programmes have improved over the same period, the global share of deaths attributable to NCDs increased from 61% to 74%, but NCDs still account for nearly half of all deaths in low- and middle-income countries. 

    The Our World in Data Global Health section allows the user to explore life expectancy, mortality and burden of disease trends at global and country levels. 

    For the UK, the government makes detailed UK SDG3 progress data on the targets and available to explore. For example, the adolescent birth rate of girls aged 10-19 years in England & Wales has dropped from around 1.4% to 0.5% in the last two decades. There is similar EU data from Eurostat. 

    The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed or even reversed progress on many SDG3 targets. The SDG Report 2022 claims that COVID-19 threatens decades of progress in global health, caused an estimated 15m deaths by the end of 2021, disrupted health services in 92% of countries, and halted progress on universal health coverage. Compared to 2019, 3.7m more children missed basic childhood vaccines in 2020, tuberculosis deaths rose for the first time since 2005, the pandemic claimed the lives of 115k front-line health workers, and triggered a significant rise in anxiety and depression, particularly in young people. Regional disparities in maternal and child health existed before the pandemic, but have likely worsened.

• Supporting initiatives

  Supporting initiatives

  • In 2018 the WHO released their Global Action Plan (GAP) for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, a set of commitments bringing together 13 health and humanitarian development agencies such as Gavi, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS, UNICEF and World Food Programme, to Engage, Accelerate, Align and Account on SDG3. In 2022 the SDG3 GAP progress report noted that country engagement increased from 37 to 52 countries.

    The WHO's Triple Billion targets (plus infographic) are a measurement tool and strategy to deliver UHC, protection from health emergencies, and enjoyment of better health and wellbeing, from the WHO's Thirteenth General Programme of Work for 2019-2023. 

    UNICEF monitors the situation of women and children, and intervenes in four strategic areas in relation to SDG3: (1) strengthening healthcare systems, (2) maternal, newborn and child survival, (3) child and adolescent health and wellbeing, and (4) health in emergencies and humanitarian settings. 

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing and partnership organisation aiming to attract, leverage and invest resources to end the epidemics in its name. 

    Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership aiming to increase access to immunisation in poor countries.

    The International Committee of the Red Cross (est. 1863) operates worldwide as an independent and neutral organisation, funded through voluntary government donations, providing health and other forms of assistance to people affected by conflict and armed violence. 

    Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (est. 1971) is a humanitarian medical NGO, active in conflict zones and countries affected by endemic diseases. 

• Importance for actuarial practice

  Importance for actuarial practice

  • Health & Care is one of the specialist practice areas for some actuaries, making SDG3 particularly relevant for health actuaries working in the public and private sector. A 2022 IFoA report explores the Role of the Actuary in Health & Care, as one of the smaller practice areas in the UK actuarial profession. 

    The International Association of Actuaries Health Section (IAAHS) produced a podcast series to accompany its 2020 International Health Care Funding Report, illustrating various funding models across 36 health systems. 

    Where there is no universal health coverage in a country, more inclusive insurance can provide health coverage that low-income families can acquire at an affordable prices. Public health care protection systems can also be complemented by private insurance products that ensure people can fund the costs of the latest medical advancements although fairness of access is a concern. 

    The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)'s 2017 report, Inclusive Insurance and the Sustainable Development Goals, includes SDG3 as one of the goals where insurance makes a direct contribution at a primary level. 

    Healthcare risks and therefore costs follow a distinct pattern over a person's lifetime – highest at very young and very old ages. Therefore the topic of intergenerational fairness and healthcare system funding is relevant. 

    The IFoA's Population Health Management working party supports the development of population health management in the face of rising healthcare demand and constrained funding. In 2021 it published the report Impactability Modelling Framework with Pre-Diabetes Example, to guide health data analysts in developing their own approaches for at-risk populations who can benefit from interventions, such as the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. 

    In 2023 the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Sustainable Initiative (PSI) published a report on inclusive and preventative healthcare for life and health insurers, exploring seven thematic areas, and proposing four strategies to drive better health outcomes. 

    The IFoA SDG podcast series includes an episode discussing mental health in the context of the SDGs, and how actuaries working in the insurance industry can contribute to work that supports customers with mental health challenges, in product development and underwriting. In 2022 the IFoA mental health working party published an exploratory paper on data and modelling considerations in risk assessment and underwriting of mental health conditions in life insurance. 

• Relationships to other goals

  Relationships to other goals

  • Health can be influenced by and/or a prerequisite of many, if not all, of the 17 SDGs. 

    • SDG1 No poverty (both) 
    • SDG2 Zero hunger (a pre-requisite) 
    • SDG4 Quality education (influenced by) 
    • SDG5 Gender equality (influenced by) 
    • SDG6 Clean water and sanitation (influenced by) 
    • SDG8 Decent work and economic growth (influenced by) 
    • SDG10 Reduced inequalities (both) 
    • SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities (a pre-requisite) 
    • SDG13 Climate action (both) 
    • There are several ways that the changing climate poses a risk to health, explained in the health section of the IFoA climate change curated library. 
    • National health systems make a material contribution to global emissions and need to adjust care delivery models to a net zero future. The NHS has made pioneering net zero commitments. 
    • SDG15 Life on land (a pre-requisite) 
    • The dependencies between human, animal and ecosystem health are the focus of the One Health agenda, covering topics such as emerging zoonoses, disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and strengthening collaboration across these areas. The Lancet issued comments on Health in global biodiversity governance after the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)'s COP15 in 2022, calling for mobilisation of more diverse health experts to inform policy.

• Other

  Other

  • Further learning courses related to SDG3: 

    • SDG Academy's Global Public Health course 
    • Future Learn's Achieving Sustainable Development course, includes a module on sustainability and health