What’s different about the Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda and its Goals offer a comprehensive vision for sustainable development that:

  • is global, rather than limited to “developing” countries as was the case with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);
  • is based on values such as equity and respect for human rights;
  • relies on approaches such as sustainable financing, scientific research and innovation, and monitoring and evaluation;
  • requires a new way of working, involving intersectoral action by multiple stakeholders;
  • aims to strengthen health systems towards universal health coverage (UHC).

These novelties can be leveraged to benefit health. For example:

  • Intersectoral action by multiple stakeholders helps place health in all sectors of policy-making, and combines the strengths of multiple stakeholders.
  • Strengthening health systems to achieve UHC means that a comprehensive health system provides complete coverage with fully-staffed and well-managed health services, thus protecting users from financial risk.
  • Respect for equity and human rights are enabling factors leading to better health for all, “leaving no one behind”, and to the empowerment of women.
  • Sustainable financing means attracting new sources of funding, as well as emphasizing domestic financing, with alignment of financial flows to avoid duplication of health system functions.
  • Scientific research and innovation should include a balance of research on medical, social and environmental determinants and solutions.
  • Monitoring and evaluation require new technologies to manage large volumes of data, disaggregated to reach different groups, for tracking progress towards Goal 3 and all other health-related Goals.
About the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)