Civil society: the catalyst for ensuring health in the age of sustainable development
- PDF / 407,944 Bytes
- 6 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 76 Downloads / 160 Views
COMMENTARY
Open Access
Civil society: the catalyst for ensuring health in the age of sustainable development Julia Smith1,2*, Kent Buse3 and Case Gordon4
Abstract Sustainable Development Goal Three is rightly ambitious, but achieving it will require doing global health differently. Among other things, progressive civil society organisations will need to be recognised and supported as vital partners in achieving the necessary transformations. We argue, using illustrative examples, that a robust civil society can fulfill eight essential global health functions. These include producing compelling moral arguments for action, building coalitions beyond the health sector, introducing novel policy alternatives, enhancing the legitimacy of global health initiatives and institutions, strengthening systems for health, enhancing accountability systems, mitigating the commercial determinants of health and ensuring rights-based approaches. Given that civil society activism has catalyzed tremendous progress in global health, there is a need to invest in and support it as a global public good to ensure that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can be realised. Keywords: Civil society, Global health, Health policy, Governance, Participation accountability, Sustainable Development Goals, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The promise and potential of SDG3 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the Agenda) promises a profound social transformation with its “indivisible tapestry of thought and action” [1]. Sustainable Development Goal Three (SDG3), to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” is rightly ambitious. Its nine targets represent a significant improvement on the health-related Millennium Development Goals in that they broaden the focus from select diseases to a holistic vision of health – to which everyone is entitled [2]. The breadth and complexity of the goals, as well as the health-related targets in other areas of the Agenda, will however, mean ‘doing’ global health differently. Among other things, progress will require action and coordination beyond the health sector into domains such as trade, addressing commercial drivers of ill health, and strengthening accountability [3].
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Faculty of Health Sciences Blusson Hall, Simon Fraser University, Room 11802, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada 2 Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
For these, and other reasons, some argue that the targets are impossible to achieve [4]. Experience illustrates, however, that progress against all odds is possible in global health. Such has been the case most notably on issues with a robust and mobilised civil society. We contend that a progressive civil society is essential to fulfilling eight functions that will be decisive in the quest to achieve the health-related targets in the global agenda. By civil society w
Data Loading...
