11 December 2015: “Health is positioned as a major contributor to the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” according to a paper prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its Executive Board in December 2015. The paper, titled ‘Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ highlights fundamental differences between the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the health aspects of the SDGs. It also recommends ways for WHO to play an increased role in governance for health.

The paper promotes a “governance for health” approach, arguing that deliberate action is necessary to influence governance in non-health areas, in order to promote and protect health. It states that the SDGs’ integrated, indivisible nature provides legitimacy for WHO to pursue a more active role in governance for health, including in food security, sustainable energy, income inequality, migration, sustainable consumption and production (SCP), and trade and intellectual property. The SDGs also present an opportunity to improve institutional arrangements for governance for health, it says, in order to broaden the global health architecture towards arrangements that promote cross-border health security and produce global public goods.

The paper recommends that WHO assume a more proactive role in shaping the global health architecture, including through aligning its priorities and financing with the 2030 Agenda and ensuring that its planning and budgeting respond to a wider set of health needs. The paper observes that, while WHO’s core functions remain relevant, the balance between them “may need to be recalibrated” to align with the 2030 Agenda.

On follow-up and review, the paper indicates that efforts on developing indicators, assessing progress and holding governments accountable have focused on individual targets and risk “ignoring the big picture, the interrelations between Goals and targets and, particularly, equity.” The paper suggests that WHO play a more proactive role in measuring effectiveness and impact in health governance.

There are only a few gaps on health-related issues in the SDGs, according to the paper. It highlights the absence of targets on population aging and immunization, which it notes is integral to achievement of at least four targets. The paper also observes that antimicrobial resistance, a WHO priority, is mentioned in the Declaration’s health paragraph but not included as a target. Further, the paper states that some important links are indirect, such as those between climate change and the spread of vector-borne diseases, and between sustainable consumption and non-communicable disease (NCDs) risk factors.

The WHO Secretariat prepared the paper (EB138/14) for the 138th session of its Executive Board, taking place from 25-30 January 2016. [Publication: Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (EB138/14)] [WHO Website] [Documents for EB 138]