Recently at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Member States have adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the post-2015 development agenda. Given the implications and importance of these 17 SDGs, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a side event on SDGs during the sixty-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific.
"The Sustainable Development Goals are much broader than the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]. But health is still the foundation that will help countries achieve these larger development goals," said Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific,.
Building on the MDGs established following the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the SDGs are likely to be milestones in global, regional and national development efforts, with health at the centre. The SDG agenda also includes a broader range of determinants of health, pointing to an important agenda for ministries of health, in reaching across sectoral lines and coordinating across other ministries or sectors for a truly whole-of-government—and whole-of-society—approach to health for all. Universal Health Coverage can be seen as an umbrella agenda, bringing together various health and development efforts.
The side event provided an opportunity to reconfirm commitment and hear from Member States about how countries will be moving forward on the SDGs. It also identified strategic examples of action on health and potential areas for regional collaboration in the context of the SDGs in future. An exhibit showcasing posters that vividly depict the SDGs helped delegates and guests get a better appreciation of the SDGs.