Thriving Lives: Ensuring Access to Quality Healthcare for All

Ahhh don’t you love memes? 😍 The meme above highlights the contrast between unhealthy habits that can harm our well-being and healthy habits that we should adopt in order to achieve SDG 3.

SDG 3, also referred to as Sustainable Development Goal 3, is a UN program that aims to guarantee healthy lives and well-being for everyone of all ages. It is part of the broader global endeavour to attain sustainable development by 2030. The program is primarily targeted at minimizing maternal and child mortality rates, preventing communicable and non-communicable diseases, promoting mental health and well-being, and improving health systems and infrastructure. The maternal mortality ratio is a crucial indicator of SDG 3 progress, intending to ensure safe pregnancies for all women. Likewise, the under-five mortality rate has reduced significantly, but more work is required to prevent avoidable deaths resulting from pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria. The goal is to decrease under-five mortality to 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030. SDG 3 also aims to address communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Here are some practices that can help obtain SDG 3:

1. Improve access to healthcare

Governments and organizations need to work towards providing universal access to healthcare services, including preventive, curative, and rehabilitative care. This can be achieved through the establishment of community health centres, telemedicine, and other innovative approaches.

2. Invest in public health infrastructure

Promoting good health requires making sure that everyone has access to clean water, sanitary conditions, and a nutritious diet. To ensure that everyone has access to these essentials, governments and organisations must invest in public health infrastructure.

3. Encourage healthy lifestyles

Promoting healthy behaviours, such as regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol, can help prevent diseases and promote well-being.

4. Increase access to mental health services

Mental health is an essential component of overall health and well-being. Governments and organizations need to work towards providing mental health services and reducing stigma around mental health issues.

5. Invest in research and development

Research and development are critical for developing new treatments, vaccines, and cures for diseases. Governments and organizations need to invest in research to ensure continued progress towards better health outcomes.

6. Build strong partnerships

Achieving SDG 3 requires collaboration between governments, organizations, and communities. Building strong partnerships can help share knowledge and resources, reduce duplication of efforts, and achieve greater impact. In conclusion, SDG 3 plays a significant role in the global effort to achieve sustainable development. It creates a just and equitable world for everyone by promoting healthy lives and well-being. Though achieving SDG 3 will require substantial input from governments, civil society, and the private sector, it will have enormous benefits not only in terms of health, but also in economic growth, social stability, and environmental sustainability.

Written by,

Xiao You

The Fonz