So, what is Sustainable Development Goal #3- Good Health and Wellbeing?
SDG #3 is focused on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages. Nine targets have been identified within Sustainable Development Goal #3 which are: maternal mortality, neonatal and child mortality, infectious disease, non-communicable diseases, substance abuse, road traffic, sexual and reproductive health, universal health coverage, and environmental health. Each of these targets is elemental in achieving Good Health and Well-being for all.
How is our progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal #3, Good Health and Wellbeing?
According to the UNDP, great progress has been made against several leading causes of death and disease. Life expectancy has increased dramatically; infant and maternal mortality rates have declined, and the tide has been turned on HIV and malaria deaths have halved. Unfortunately, it is recognized that access to health care and improvements are often unbalanced within countries and between countries.
Here are a very interesting statistics to show you where we stand:
- The UN reports that as of 30 June 2021, 28.2 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy, up from 7.8 million in 2010. In 2020, 73% of all people living with HIV were accessing treatment.
- 400 million people lack access to basic healthcare
- Every 2 seconds, someone from the age of 30-70 dies from non-communicable diseases – cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, or diabetes.
Things you can do!
- Make a donation to charities working on SDG #3.
- Place yourself on the organ and tissue donor registry in your country.
- Donate blood, it saves lives.
- Vaccinate yourself and your children. It protects you and your family and it aids public health.
Here are a few Good Deeds Day projects that took aim at getting us closer to our goal of Good Health and Well-being For All!
Country: Colombia
Organization: Banco de Sangre Santa María
For Good Deeds Day 2022, the local blood bank, Banco de Sangre Santa María, partnered with local companies and universities in the municipality of Sucre to promote a voluntary blood donation drive. Giving blood is simple and it saves lives every day.
Country: Colombia
Organization: Club de Leones Medellín Metropolitano
On Good Deeds Day, Medellin Metropolitan club’s visited the María Auxiliadora Home for the Elderly, where they gave them snacks, second-hand clothes in good condition, bedding, medications, and conducted eye screenings. They also visited a children’s home to perform eye screening and as part of their flagship program, they will monitor boys and girls who have presented any abnormalities so they can be seen by a professional to get glasses or therapy as needed.
Country: United States
Organization: HandsOn San Diego
Auntie Helen’s serves individuals with low incomes or with underlying health conditions such as HIV/AIDS. They are self-supportive through their thrift store and private donations which fund programs such as delivering groceries to families and helping individuals through addiction recovery.
On Good Deeds Day, HandsOn San Diego volunteered with Auntie Helens to sort, fold and hang clothing donations, disbursing them between various designated areas.
Country: Nigeria
Organization: Kleo Aid Foundation for Children
Kleo Aid Foundation for Children implemented two projects on Good Deeds Day focused on Good Health and Well-being. Their first project focused on enlightening the public about the signs and symptoms of tuberculosis, the preventive measures, and also the need to end the stigmatization of victims. The second project was an awareness campaign on Good Personal Hygiene for those living in IDP (internally displaced people) camp in Abuja as well as providing them with free eye examinations.
Country: Haiti
Organization:ANACAONA Community
In honor of Good Deeds Day ANACAONA Community, a Haitian social business, will be extending the work they do around hygiene education and good health practices by building a handwashing station in the Pasteur Dieusse Primary School in one of the most impoverished communities in Haiti, Cite-Soleil. In addition to setting up a handwashing station, ANACAONA Community will offer hygiene training through their hygiene ambassadors both in the school and also by conducting home visits to ensure the message is flowing from the students to their families. With continued turmoil in the community and a rash of gang violence, the project has been postponed until it is safe for the local teams to set up the project.
