Building capacity for surgery, obstetrics and anesthesia in support of universal health coverage and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The United Nations’ 2030 agenda for sustainable development lays out an ambitious mission to “leave no one behind.” It en­dorses a set of 17 global development goals to be achieved by 2030 with substantially broader scope, reach, and aspiration than the agenda set forth by its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although the third sustainable development goal (SDG) is the only goal wholly dedicated to health, 29 health-related targets are spread across 11 of the 17 goals, underscoring the vital role of health in realizing all the SDG’s. 1,2 Central to the achievement of the health-related SDGs is the call for universal health coverage (UHC) in SDG target 3.8. UHC acknowledges that expanding access to es­sential health services is insufficient unless patients are also protected from poverty-inducing out-of-pocket payments. There is significant institutional support for UHC through a heightened emphasis on UHC and recent collaborations by key global health multilaterals—including WHO and World Bank.