As part of the on-going campaign on the Sustainable Development Goals carried out by the United Nations, United Nations Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) is presenting a weekly series of articles on #SDGSinAcademia that highlights the importance of higher education in achieving the Goals. Featuring additional sources for use by faculty and students alike, this series is intended to inspire action on the SDGs and showcase activities and initiatives of UNAI member institutions.
07 May 2018 - This week we are featuring in our #SDGsinAcademia series Goal 3: Ensure ehealthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Targets:
- 3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births
- 3.2 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 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births
- 3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
- 3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
- 3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
- 3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
- 3.7 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 programmes
- 3.8 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
- 3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
- 3.A Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate
- 3.B Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all
- 3.C 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
- 3.D Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
What are UNAI member institutions doing about Goal 3? Here are some examples:
- American University of Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda) hosts the Emergency Medicine Training Centre (EMTC) to promote global health around the world by providing intensive training for first responders. For instance, in December 2017 over 150 police officers in India were trained in CPR, bandaging and moving accident victims at the 11th Global Healthcare Summit.
- New Giza University (Egypt) hosted last month the NGUWHO conference, which is a simulation of how the World Health Organization operates. The Model WHO provides students with an understanding of medical collaboration beyond national borders, developments in global public health and other major topics in the field of global healthcare.
- Unicaf University (Malawi) under the slogan Safe motherhood: together we can make a difference sponsored the event Mothers' Fun Run to raise funds to purchase maternal and neonatal healthcare equipment and supplies for the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and its 26 health centres in the Blantyre District.
- Amrita University (India) though its Amrita Self Reliant Villages (ASeRVe) programme conducted a campaign for maternal and child health in the villages of Hadiabad, Ratanpur and Bihar. The institution has been conducting as well, through the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, research on tuberculosis in diabetic patients.
- Wenzhou Medical University (China) established the Brightness Project, which aims to offer medical assistance in rural areas like the town of Naqu in Xizang (Tibet Autonomous Region). A team from the institution conducted several cataract operations and provided training to improve eye protection in high altitude.
- JSC Astana Medical University (Kazakhstan) will host next week the 1st Congress of the Society of Urologists and Andrologists (24-25 May 2018) and some weeks later the 1st Kazakhstan International Congress on Bariatric Surgery in the Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome (4-5 July 2018).
- The Università Popolare UniGalileo (Italy) hosted in February this year a series of workshops focused on body and psychological health and well being. The series aimed to create awareness and to provide information as well as strategies for a healthy lifestyle.
- The University of Zurich (Switzerland) has partnered with a local university in Uganda to develop the Researchers for Global Health (R4GH) initiative to foster research primarily focused on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The initiative has a strong emphasis on the training and exchange of young researchers, clinicians and laboratory technicians between both institutions.
- North Carolina State University (USA) has developed the Global Health Initiative for partnerships that provide education, training, research and engagement to those interested in global health. Moreover, professor Sid Thakur is working to address the challenge of infectious diseases and received a grant to fund a food-borne pathogen tracking project.
- The University of Manitoba (Canada) hosts the Centre for Global Public Health (CGPH) with partners with researchers from the province of Manitoba and around the globe to conduct innovative public health research. Current research projects focus on multiple sclerosis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, sexually transmitted infections and chronic kidney disease.
- Western Sydney University (Australia) through its School of Social Sciences and Psychology has developed Global Health Metrics to monitor progress on the SDGs. One of the recently published papers is entitled Measuring progress and projecting attainment on the basis of past trends of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries.
- The League of European Research Universities (LERU) will host on 31 May 2018 in Brussels (Belgium) its spring reception on The evolving thinking about diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. The keynote speaker will be professor Bart De Strooper, scientific director of the UK-Dementia Research Institute and this year's winner of the 'Brain Prize'.
Here you can take a look to a selection of the Activity Reports submitted by UNAI member institutions.
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The following resources can help improving your knowledge and understanding about Goal 3 in particular and the SDGs in general:
- This is a comprehensive research guide made by the United Nations Library in Geneva listing resources about the SDGs in general and about each one of the Goals, including books and articles (some of which are fully available on line free of charge), UN documents such as resolutions and reports and additional resources.
- The SDG Fund has created this online library featuring over 1,000 online publications. The publications are categorized by the Goals they represent, by geographical regions they relate to and by authors, to facilitate easy searchability. Each publication also has a short summary attached to it which helps with keyword searches.
- This is an initiative supported by UNDP, UN-HABITAT and the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, which offers a selection of tools such as concept notes, papers, case studies, compilation of best practices and guides providing contextual and practical information about the SDGs.
- This is a guide entitled Getting Started with the Sustainable Development Goals intended for stakeholders and designed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to serve as an initial basis for implementing the SDGs.
- This guide entitled Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities also developed by the SDSN intends to help higher education institutions to accelerate their contributions to the SDGs highlighting the important role they have in implementing the SDGs through their teaching, research, operations and leadership, and providing practical guidance and examples.
- This guide entitled Sustainable Development Goals - Human Response Alignments features the human element of change and the human response corresponding to each of the SDGs in order to quicken the global conversation about vital issues and to encourage the movement that supports the vision of the SDGs.
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