Local collaboration is essential for global progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals

A new progress report was jointly published today by the 13 signatory agencies of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All (SDG3 GAP). The report entitled “What worked? What isn’t? What’s next?” reflects four years of joint work by major multilateral agencies outlining what has worked and what has not in strengthening cooperation and support to accelerate the country’s progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year marks the halfway point towards the Sustainable Development Goals, but the world is lagging behind in achieving the global goals. Since its launch in 2019, the SDG3 GAP has enabled the creation of new cooperation structures between signatory agencies in key areas such as sustainable financing and primary health care, among others. At least 67 countries participated in one or more themes of the SDG3 GAP accelerator.

“We have made important progress, but we still have a long way to go to improve the way multilateral organizations work together to support countries. We need to listen to what countries are telling us and act on their guidance,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, General WHO Director and Chair of the SDG3 GAP Principals Group. “I thank the partners for their cooperation and for the honest self-assessments contained in this report.”

The report makes six key recommendations to ensure that countries benefit from better targeted support and deliver on the commitments made in the SDG3 GAP. That includes:

• continue the improvement cycle of the SDG3 GAP for health by seeking Member States’ views on how we work together at the country level and responding to related recommendations;
• maintain GAP as a platform for cooperation;
• encourage stronger country-level collaboration in primary health care and explore new thematic topics such as climate-resilient health systems;
• jointly apply new country-level approaches such as the Delivery for Impact approach;
• participate more in civil society; and
• work with Member States to strengthen incentives for cooperation through political leadership, governance guidance and funding to support cooperation.

The report’s key findings will feed into discussions at the next United Nations General Assembly summit on the SDGs and the high-level meeting on universal health coverage in September 2023.

The months leading up to these key events provide an opportunity for a concerted effort by Member States and multilateral agencies to identify ways to implement the recommendations and prepare the ground for taking full advantage of stronger cooperation and accelerating progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in the second half of the SDG timeline .

Note to the editor:

The SDG3 GAP describes how the 13 signatory agencies will adopt new ways of working, building on existing successful collaborations, and jointly coordinate their support around country-owned and country-led national plans and strategies. The signatories of the SDG3 GAP are Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Global Financial Fund for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF); Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund); International Labor Organization (ILO); Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); United Nations Development Program (UNDP); United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Unitaid; United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women); World Bank Group; World Food Program (WFP); and the World Health Organization (WHO). See the full report, What worked? What isn’t? What’s next?