Infection

Infectious diseases and the Sustainable Development Goals: progress, challenges and future directions

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Infectious diseases markedly influence progress towards the SDGs. Pandemics and global inequity have hindered progress towards the health targets, highlighting humanity’s interconnectedness and shared vulnerability to new infectious agents. Enhanced global collaboration and partnerships in training, surveillance, research and innovation are essential to reach the health SDGs by 2030.

When the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 as the next set of global targets following the Millennium Development Goals, it provided a way to galvanize concerted action across the globe to advance humankind and its relationship with planet Earth1. While several of the 17 SDGs impact health, such as SDG 6 on the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, SDG 3 is a specific health goal that aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”1. It includes an explicit target for communicable diseases (SDG Target 3.3) that stipulates “By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases”1. As we reach the mid-point to 2030, it is opportune to reflect on global progress on communicable diseases to meeting this target.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank N. Devnarain for assistance with the references.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Quarraisha Abdool Karim & Salim S. Abdool Karim

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Quarraisha Abdool Karim & Salim S. Abdool Karim

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  1. Quarraisha Abdool Karim
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Quarraisha Abdool Karim.

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Q.A.K. is co-chair of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism Panel that advises the United Nations Secretary-General on how technology can advance achievement of the SDGs. S.S.A.K. is Special Advisor on pandemics to the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

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Abdool Karim, Q., Abdool Karim, S.S. Infectious diseases and the Sustainable Development Goals: progress, challenges and future directions.
Nat Rev Microbiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00954-7

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  • Published: 18 July 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00954-7

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