A brief overview of the 2030 Agenda, noncommunicable diseases and the challenges of leaving no one behind

Abstract

This essay provides a theoretical reflection on the challenges of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, considering its motto of "leave no one behind". To exemplify these challenges, we discuss noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), one of the main issues on the global health agenda before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the political and economic dimensions that determine their presence and global spread. After a brief overview of NCDs, the text seeks to answer three questions: In "Leaving no one behind?" we list some themes to reflect on how and who has historically been left behind, delving a little deeper into the examples in "Who has been left behind in the world?" and "Who has been left behind in Brazil?". Using data from the most relevant and recent literature on the subject, we discuss the challenges and some ways to leave no one behind in a world where the mean of production has historically made some social groups vulnerable, especially black and Indigenous populations. In our final remarks, we draw inspiration from the Sankofa ideogram to remember that the answers to the sustainable development we seek may lie somewhere in our most primordial and traditional past. And that it is necessary to invest on building new paths from different worldviews and approaches to epistemology on the other side of the abyssal line.