The role of “good health” in achieving sustainable development
The role of “good health” in achieving sustainable development
Education and health have long been seen as the two most important factors in a country’s development and prosperity. This has been confirmed numerous times over the last few decades, and we can now plainly see that developed countries are always distinguished by offering the highest quality education and health care to their residents.
Hence, Earth Guards devoted its featured article in the previous issue to discussing “Education for Sustainable Development,» and in this issue of the magazine, we discuss “The role of good health in achieving sustainable development”.
In conjunction with the global trend towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the role of good health appears as a fundamental element in these efforts.
Good health is based on several aspects, including physical, psychological, and social, where a balance must be achieved between these aspects to achieve a comprehensive healthy life. The physical dimension includes healthy nutrition, exercise, and good sleep, while the psychological dimension requires dealing with stress properly and maintaining mental health, and the social dimension includes positive relationships and community support.
It is worth noting that good health is not limited to the individual alone but has a clear impact on the entire society and on achieving comprehensive development. Healthier individuals are more productive in their communities, their healthcare expenses are reduced, and their standards of living and well-being are generally higher.
Therefore, improving health and ensuring access to healthcare services in general are among the top priorities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes investing in the public and private health sectors, initiatives aimed at providing basic healthcare for all, and launching awareness campaigns, in addition to providing vaccines and essential medicines at affordable prices.
In short, it can be said that good health is the basis for economic growth, social development, and environmental conservation. By investing in health and raising awareness of its importance, we can build a more sustainable and prosperous future for future generations.
Economically, good health contributes to increasing manpower productivity and reducing economic setbacks resulting from the spread of diseases and epidemics. Countries’ investments in health can also be reflected in improving the gross domestic product and enhancing economic stability in the long term.
Socially, access to healthcare services in general is a fundamental right for everyone. Improvements in the field of health contribute to reducing social gaps, enhancing gender equality, and making citizens feel a sense of belonging and loyalty to their country.
From an environmental perspective, achieving good environmental health entails reducing pollution rates and protecting nature and its natural resources, which positively impacts human health. Providing effective health services also requires paying attention to the surrounding environment and ensuring access to clean water and fresh air.
In the following lines, we will discuss in detail the most important aspects of “good health”.
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
It is no surprise that good health and well-being are among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as Goal 3 comes right after the goal of “no poverty” and the goal of “zero hunger”, which shows the importance and vitality of good health in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Goal 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, so achieving this goal is vital to improving the quality of life and reducing health gaps globally by:
Improving access to basic health care for all. This care includes disease prevention, primary medical care, and the necessary treatment for chronic and acute diseases. However, many countries face challenges in providing these services effectively due to financial constraints, a lack of training, and weak infrastructure.
Raising awareness and educating the population also play a crucial role in achieving Goal 3. By providing the right information about disease prevention and good health practices, individuals can make the right health decisions about their lives. Raising awareness also requires improving communication between health authorities and local communities to ensure that awareness messages reach everyone.
Focusing on mental health and treating mental illnesses is also an essential part of Goal 3, as many people around the world suffer from mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Therefore, the necessary support and services must be provided to help recover and cope with these conditions.
Investing in scientific research and the development of new medicines and medical technologies contributes significantly to achieving Goal 3. By supporting innovation and accelerating development and distribution processes, health care can be improved and more effective treatments can be provided, especially for complex diseases.
In short, achieving Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals requires many efforts to promote universal health care and ensure healthy lives and well-being for all around the world. In the following, we discuss with you the targets of Goal 3 and means of implementation for those targets.
Targets and means of implementation
The United Nations has identified 13 targets for good health and well-being, in addition to 28 indicators to measure progress in achieving these goals, but the greatest focus is on the first nine targets, in addition to 4 means of implementation, which we highlight with you in these lines.
First– Maternal mortality: By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births.
Second– Neonatal and child mortality: 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 1000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births.
Third– Infectious diseases: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, and combat hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other communicable diseases.
Fourth– Noncommunicable diseases: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases through prevention and treatment, and promote mental health and well-being.
Fifth– Substance abuse: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
Sixth– Road traffic: By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
Seventh– Sexual and reproductive health: By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.
Eighth– Universal health coverage: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
Ninth– Environmental health: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
To achieve these targets, the United Nations has identified four basic means of implementation through which we can strive to improve human health around the world, without regard to any social, ethnic or religious considerations. These means of implantation are as follows:
First– Tobacco control: Strengthen the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate.
Second– Medicines and vaccines: Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries. Provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines.
Third– Health financing and workforce: Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States.
Fourth– Emergency preparedness: Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.
Impact of infrastructure
Infrastructure plays an important role in developing and supporting all sectors, especially the health sector, as it is the basis through which various national agendas can be implemented, and this is due to the capabilities provided by the infrastructure that help each country provide health services effectively and quickly. In the following, we summarize the importance of infrastructure in the health sector:
First– Providing access: Good health infrastructure helps provide easy and convenient access to health services for all people. Also, spreading hospitals, medical centers, and clinics in appropriate places means that people will not have to travel long distances to obtain medical care.
Second– Improving the quality of services: Health infrastructure enhances the ability to provide high-quality medical care. If hospitals and medical centers are equipped with the necessary technologies and equipment, they will contribute to providing optimal health care to patients.
Third– Improving crisis management: Health infrastructure plays a crucial role in responding to health crises such as epidemics and natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps the best evidence of this. If there is an integrated and prepared health system, it will be possible to deal with various emergencies effectively and quickly.
Fourth– Strengthening the economy: Health infrastructure contributes to strengthening the economy by providing job opportunities and promoting investment in the health sector. Individuals and companies may also tend to invest in places where good health services are available.
Fifth– Boosting disease control and health awareness: Health infrastructure contributes to enhancing health awareness and educating people about the risks of diseases and methods of preventing them. If there are health centers equipped with the necessary resources, they can provide health awareness to the local community.
Sixth– Empowering scientific research: Health infrastructure contributes to supporting research in the medical field by providing the necessary platforms and facilities for scientists and researchers to work on developing new treatments while improving health care in general.
Seventh– Promoting health equality: Good infrastructure can contribute to achieving health equality by increasing access to medical services for poor and marginalized communities, and reducing gaps between different social classes.
Eighth– Increasing public and environmental safety: Health infrastructure plays an important role in maintaining public and environmental safety, by managing medical waste, combating infectious diseases, and providing clean water and sanitation.
In general, investing in health infrastructure represents a strategic investment that benefits the entire community by improving health and well-being and strengthening the local economy; in order to achieve Goal 3, but in this context we should not overlook the need for a sustainable healthcare system.
Sustainability in healthcare
Sustainability in the health sector refers to the ability to meet current health needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their health needs. The following are some important aspects of achieving sustainability in healthcare:
Economic aspects: Economic sustainability is related to achieving a balance between the costs of providing health services and the quality of these services. This includes improving spending efficiency and developing new financing and business models that contribute to achieving the main goal of providing quality health services.
Social aspects: Social sustainability in the health sector focuses on improving access to health services and achieving social justice, meaning that services are available for all without discrimination.
Environmental aspects: This is done by encouraging environmentally healthy behaviors and practices, such as reducing and managing medical waste, in addition to designing health facilities in a sustainable manner that includes reliance on renewable energy and rational consumption of water and energy.
Technological aspects: Technology can play a major role in enhancing sustainability in the health sector, by harnessing artificial intelligence and big data to improve the quality of service delivery and manage resources efficiently.
Collaborative aspects: Enhancing international cooperation and developing partnerships with international organizations, governmental institutions, civil society, and the private sector can contribute to improving access to health services, exchanging knowledge, and providing technical and financial support.
By adopting a comprehensive approach to sustainability in the health sector, tangible improvements can be achieved while sustaining health and well-being for current and future generations. Also, we must not forget to emphasize the pivotal and vital role of the medical workforce, especially physicians of all majors, in achieving health sustainability.
The role of medical workforce
The role of the medical workforce is essential in achieving health sustainability, as they represent a crucial element in providing quality and effective healthcare. Their responsibility to achieve health sustainability goes beyond treating patients and performing operations, but also includes many things, such as:
Providing basic health care: Medical staff work to provide basic health care to the community in a sustainable manner, including early detection of diseases, management of chronic diseases, and providing appropriate vaccines and medications.
Education and awareness: Medical workforce play a crucial role in educating people about disease prevention and promoting positive health behaviors, which helps reduce the spread of epidemics and reduce unnecessary use of health services.
Research and innovation: Medical staff work to support medical research, development and innovation, which includes developing new technologies and effective treatments while using the available resources more efficiently.
Management of resources: Medical staff are responsible for effectively managing health sector resources, including medicines, medical equipment, water, energy, and infrastructure. Additionally, they are responsible for reducing waste and achieving financial and environmental sustainability in healthcare.
Promoting diversity and inclusion: Medical staff work to ensure that health services are provided equally to all members of society, including vulnerable and small groups.
Developing sustainable health policies: Medical staff participate in developing health policies that promote sustainability, including encouraging public financing for health, implementing preventive measures, and strengthening capacities to respond to health disasters.
In short, the medical workforce play a crucial role in achieving health sustainability through providing basic health care, raising awareness, research and development, managing resources, promoting diversity and inclusion, and developing sustainable health policies. But for this workforce to be able to perform its assigned role, we all must provide them with the needed support in every way possible.
Supporting medical workforce
There is no doubt that investing time, effort and resources in supporting and developing medical staff is the cornerstone of achieving healthcare sustainability. The following are the most important ways in which we can support and develop the medical workforce to enable them to perform their duties with the highest quality and efficiency.
Securing opportunities for education, training and development: Any country seeking to advance its health sector must provide a high level of education and training for its medical staff, whether at the academic or practical level, including curricula, training halls and laboratories.
Providing psychological and social support: Programs of psychological and social support are essential, especially in difficult circumstances and major health disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic, to support the psychological resilience of medical workforce in facing the difficulties and risks they encounter every day.
Financial and moral support: It is no secret to anyone that there is a severe shortage of medical personnel in developing countries, and a large part of this is due to weak financial and moral support, so these countries turn into exporters of talent and good manpower in this sector. Therefore, it must be taken into account that medical teams receive appropriate salaries, especially those working in remote areas, to ensure a decent life for them, and appropriate moral support must be provided to encourage them to continue providing medical services in all circumstances.
Providing the necessary equipment and resources: modern medical equipment and facilities must be ensured, and the necessary resources must be provided to operate this equipment and facilities, as this facilitates the work of medical teams in providing health services with the highest possible quality and efficiency. A skilled doctor alone is not enough without the appropriate tools and environment.
Opportunities for career development and encouraging innovation: Career paths must be provided for medical staff while allowing them to advance, this motivates them to improve their skills and develop their performance. We must also encourage innovation to support increasing the efficiency of service delivery, as well as involve the medical staff in decision-making as they are the backbone of the health system.
Infection prevention and control: Medical teams deal with various types of diseases and epidemics, which necessarily means that they might get infected. Therefore, adequate measures must be provided to protect these teams from exposure to infection and make it possible to provide the best medical care for infected personnel.
All of the above will inevitably lead to the creation of a skilled workforce that is truly loyal to their country, which will reflect positively on the local health sector. In this way, we ensure that the medical workforce perform their duties with the expected quality and efficiency.
100 Million Healthy Lives
There is still a long way to go until we can say that the health sector in Egypt has become as efficient as required. Despite the great efforts in this sector, overpopulation stands as a main setback, but this has not prevented Egypt’s leadership from taking steady and continuous steps towards improving this sector. Perhaps the most prominent of these steps is Mr. President’s “100 Million Healthy Lives” initiative, in addition to the 10 more initiatives that have emerged from it, most of which are completely free.
“100 Million Healthy Lives” is the first and most important presidential action in reshaping the health sector in Egypt. The initiative aims to completely eliminate Hepatitis C, and Egypt has come a long way in accomplishing this goal, in addition to detecting non-communicable diseases. In the following lines we go over the 10 other presidential initiatives.
Women›s Health Initiative: This initiative targets women over 18 years of age for early detection of breast cancer, raising awareness of how to detect the disease, and correcting misconceptions and misinformation about it.
Pre-marital Medical Tests Initiative: In addition to an awareness booklet that can be downloaded from the Ministry of Health and Population’s website, the initiative conducts a package of medical examinations for people approaching marriage, including early detection of many infectious and non-communicable diseases.
Maternal and Fetal Health Initiative: The Initiative aims at providing early detection of virus B , HIV and syphilis for pregnant women, in addition to reducing maternal deaths caused by such diseases. The Initiative also includes following up on the condition of the mother and the newborn for 42 days after delivery.
Early detection and treatment of cancer tumors: The initiative aims to encourage early diagnosis of cancerous tumors in the lung, colon, prostate, and cervix, given that early detection allows for better chances of recovery and reduced mortality. The initiative also aims to eliminate cervical cancer by the year 2030.
Early detection and treatment of hearing loss and impairment for newborns: this initiative aims to facilitate citizens’ access to services for detecting hearing loss in newborns and raise awareness regarding this issue.
Early detection and treatment of chronic diseases and nephropathy: this initiative aims to fight chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, in addition to increasing awareness on how to live a healthy life.
Detection and treatment of malnutrition among primary school students: The initiative works on the early detection of diseases associated with malnutrition in children, such as anemia, obesity, and short stature.
Treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Children: The initiative targets all children with spinal muscular atrophy, to follow up on their health and provide the necessary treatment for children under six months at the current stage.
Early detection of genetic diseases in newborns: this initiative works on the detection and treatment of 19 Genetic disorders in newborns admitted to intensive care units in hospitals under the “100 Million Health Lives” initiative.
Mental health and early detection of autism spectrum disorders: This initiative targets children between the ages of 18 and 24 months for early detection of autism. The initiative also aims to raise awareness regarding this disorder.
When looking at these initiatives, we find that they include all the targets of Goal 3 of SDGs. Additionally, these initiatives are not limited to Egyptians only, but also include refugees and foreign residents.
In this regard, we should not forget the “Differently-Abled” Fund, which was established by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to be responsible for coordinating with various entities and organizations to provide care and support for people with disabilities.
Egypt’s efforts in recent years in the health sector are not limited to the things we mentioned in this segment, but rather extend way beyond that.
Conclusion of the featured article
As usual, we tried in this featured article of the “Earth Guards Magazine” to display a comprehensive overview of one of the most important and vital issues on our way towards achieving sustainability.
Health sustainability requires a comprehensive shift in our approach to healthcare. It is not just a matter of providing treatment, but rather a multifaceted approach that includes prevention measures, public health awareness, and environmental preservation.
By adopting healthy lifestyle, taking advantage of modern technology and developing health infrastructure, we can build a better and more sustainable future.
Health sustainability is an investment in the future, as it contributes to reducing health and economic burdens in the long term, and enhances individual productivity and well-being.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a very tough lesson for the whole world as it was able to paralyze the global economy, something that we are still recovering from to date. Hence, we must be aware of the importance of achieving the goal of good health within an international framework of cooperation.
The road is long and filled with obstacles, but with awareness and continuous efforts, we can take steady steps in developing the healthcare system, from infrastructure to medical workforce and academic curricula.
At the same time, each of us must bear their own responsibility in achieving Goal 3, whether through family planning or by following health guidelines, in addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes proper nutrition, exercise, and periodic health checks.
Our mission is to achieve sustainability, but to accomplish this mission, we, our own, must have healthy bodies and minds; otherwise, we will not be able to develop our present or ensure our future, and we will fall short of truly becoming the Earth Guards!
