Abstract
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) encompass 17 goals with targets and indicators, collectively striving to improve national, regional, continental, and global development. SDG 8 strives for improved and sustainable economic growth. Africa's population is estimated to increase markedly and rapidly over the next few decades. The African demographic dividend presents opportunities to be harnessed, but several socioeconomic challenges exist that may constrain progress for achieving the SDGs. Poverty and inequality are pervasive in Africa and constrain economic and health gains. SDG 3 aims for good health and well‐being for all ages and has 13 targets linked to 26 indicators. Collectively, SDG 3 targets aim to improve health outcomes by reducing mortality, ending epidemics, and preventing diseases to ensure affordable and quality healthcare access for all. The dynamic African health landscape and scarcity of healthcare human capital also present challenges for advancing SDG 3. The implementation of the SDGs presents major and complex challenges but ultimately yields rewards. Advancement across all SDG 3 targets is necessary for the benefit of healthier global citizens.
Highlights
The sustainable development goals (SDGs) encompass 17 goals with targets quality health services without financial hardship.[1]
The key levers for achieving this positive transition is in a well-educated workforce with the adequate and relevant skills to contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP); and to have a population that adopts a healthy lifestyle to prevent or delay the onset of diseases and reduce dependencies on health services
Some important considerations on the global health landscape are the emergence of Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as a group, as the main burden of disease globally; the increasing significance of mental health; human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) evolving into a chronic disease; comorbidities becoming more prevalent; drug resistance challenges in tuberculosis (TB); the rising prevalence of antimicrobial resistance; healthcare worker, funding, and infrastructural resource constraints; and the adoption of precision medicine for better health treatment through enhanced and specific treatment of diseases per region across ethnicities
Summary
Africa’s population is estimated to increase from 1 billion to 1.6 billion by 2030, doubling by 2050.[7]. With the collapse of global oil and other mineral prices, growth in sub-Saharan Africa decelerated to 1.5% in 2016, the lowest level since the 1980s, with the region’s real GDP per capita contracting by 1.1%; South Africa and oil-exporting countries mostly accounting for the slowdown.[9]. African countries have not embraced manufacturing opportunities to foster growth and development and remain marginalized in global manufacturing trade[10] as the commodity export boom of the mid-2000s did not prompt the diversification of their economies from commodity dependence to value adding manufacturing products[11] and services. Failure to progress along the more sustainable manufacturing and services economic growth trajectory will shackle African countries’ economies and they will continue to lag behind other developing and more developed countries, thereby perpetuating and further widening the gap of poverty and inequality
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