Physical health is
known to be a key part of international development as it lays the foundation
for people to lead full lives. Without good health it is harder to attend
school, be productive at work or be active in your community. Even though
health is more than just physical health, for years many critical mental health
issues and wellbeing were not properly considered in international development.
In this blog, SI UN Representative Angelina Akhvlediani examines how the new
global Sustainable Development Goals might change this and why this is
important for women and girls.

"The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focused on saving
lives in poor countries. Now, in the SDGs health targets are focused on
creating healthier societies and promoting wellbeing for everyone, worldwide.
Within this, it is necessary to recognise the importance of the equality-needs
of women, children, and the poorest, most disadvantaged groups to achieve true
sustainable development. Global disparities in healthcare access stifle
sustainable development. That the SDGs apply to every country means they go
further and ask for more commitment and action from governments. Ultimately, if
fully implemented, the SDGs could support us all being happier, healthier, and
being able to lead fulfilled lives. This is also great news for promoting
awareness and action on mental health issues, which have rarely featured as a
critical aspect of health in development".  

 

Image: Seminar on Women and Wellness Focus on Mental Health – SI Pune
Metro East, India: Initiating a dialogue about mental health with
psychiatrists, counsellors, gynecologists and therapists. This seminar tackled
social stigma and taboos surrounding mental health issues and provided
practical information on accessing psychological support. Seminar Convenor
Benita Sen (pictured above) now writes a weekly column in an Indian newspaper
on mental health as a result of this event.  

So, why does the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
present a new era for global public health?

"Health is positioned by the SDGs as a key feature of human
development in a more integrated manner than was the case for the MDGs. Social,
environmental and economic determinants, such as education, income and urbanisation,
all have an impact on health and, in turn, equally benefit from a healthy
population. This integrated and holistic approach to development is a prominent
feature of ‘sustainable development’.

It is true that just one of the 17 SDGs focuses exclusively
on health. However goal 3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all
at all ages”, is broad and is underpinned by thirteen specific targets what
cover a wide spectrum of health issues.

Unlike the MDGs, the SDGs address new targets, including mental
health, substance abuse, the health impacts of hazardous chemicals, water and
soil pollution and contamination, and the implementation of the World Health Organisation’s
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Further targets will attempt to reduce
and manage national and global health risks, for example, from contagious
diseases".

 

Image: Stress Management Workshop – SI Moreton North, Australia: After a community consultation indicated that the community wanted help with
stress management SI Moreton North collaborated with other organisations
including Caboolture Regional Domestic Violence Service and Resource Centre, to
empower people with resilience techniques. Through a workshop attendees learned strategies
that enhanced their ability to cope better under adversity. 

"Importantly health security, which was not mentioned in MDGs,
is playing key role in SDGs. It recognises that natural disasters, disease
outbreaks, war and other humanitarian crises are a major thread to sustainable
development and impact people’s health.

The SDGs set a global development framework on health issues
that will last until 2030. Following on from the MDGs, it is interesting to
compare the two sets of development goals in order to see how they included
health.

The progress made by the MDGs is significant:

·        
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria targets have
been widely met

·        
Child mortality decreased by 53%, but this does
fall short of the 67% target

·        
Death related to pregnancy and childbirth have
fallen by more than 40%, short of the 75% target

·        
91% of the global population is now using an
improved drinking water source, compared to 76% in 1990. This meets the targets
on drinking water

·        
Between 1990 and 2015, the global prevalence of
underweight among children aged less than 5 declined from 25% to 14%, nearly
reaching the target of a 50% reduction

Whilst this progress is good, the MDGs only applied to the
world’s poorest countries. This meant the MDGs set a limited number of human
development targets for poverty eradication, health, education, food security
and nutrition. Also, some of the biggest achievement gaps of the MDGs affect
women and girls the most. The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs go much further than
this, and aims to conclude the “unfinished business” of the MDGs. Importantly
for Soroptimist International, and for the UN Representatives who advocate at
the United Nations, SDGs recognize the importance of equality-needs of women,
children, and the poorest, most disadvantaged groups to achieve true
sustainable development". 

Angelina Akhvlediani
has been a Representative for Soroptimist International at the United Nations
since 2013, and has been a Soroptimist in both Georgia and the United States,
where she is Past President of the Manhattan Club. She is a psychotherapist and
gained her PhD in Psychology in 1998. At the United Nations she was Co-Convenor
of the UN NGO Committee on Mental Health’s Human Rights and Mental Health
working group. She was also a member of the Communications Coordination Committee
for the UN.

Image (left to right): Soroptimist International President Yvonne Simpson, SI UN Rep MarieD’Amato-Rizzi, SI UN Rep Bette Levy and past SI UN Rep Angelina Akhvlediani.

This year Angelina
(above right) moves on from her role as SI UN Representative to explore new challenges. At CSW, she was thanked by Soroptimist International President, Yvonne Simpson for the commitment shown in Angelina’s work at the United Nations. We join Yvonne in wishing Angelina every success and happiness for the future.