The Lancet analyses progress towards health related SDGs based on the global burden of disease

In September 2016, the Lancet provided an analysis of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 188 countries. To allow for easier comparison, an indexed score (SDG Index) was created for the 33 health-related SDG indicators based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015. Progress towards each indicator was scaled from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed). As a result, Iceland tops the list with a score of 85. The lowest-scoring nation was the Central African Republic, at 20.

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The analysis presents an independent, robust basis for monitoring progress towards the SDGs and serves as a crucial component for accountability. The global burden of disease is the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological effort to quantify health loss across places and over time. The global burden of disease enterprise – now consists of more than 1,800 researchers and policymakers in nearly 130 nations and territories – is coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

To see how nations compare to others, countries were divided into five categories, based on a combination of education, fertility, and income per capita. This new categorization goes beyond the historical “developed” vs. “developing” or economic divisions based solely on income.

The study’s top findings include:

• There has been significant improvement in child and maternal survival over the past 25 years.
• More skilled doctors, nurses, and midwives are assisting with child deliveries.
• Many countries have increased access to essential health services, especially antiretroviral therapies to treat HIV and the availability of malaria nets.
• Fewer people are dying from unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation, as well as air pollution.
• Countries with higher socio-demographic standing saw faster declines in deaths from chronic disease, road injuries, and violence.
• Countries in the lower socio-demographic groups saw faster declines in childhood wasting and stunting.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has developed an interactive tool using this data to visually see how countries have progressed over time. Learn about the tool // Access the tool

The researchers note that these gains will need to be sustained, and in many cases accelerated, to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. The findings also highlight the importance of income, education, and birth rates as drivers of health improvement, and that investments in those areas alone will not be sufficient.

The proportion of countries that have accomplished individual targets varies greatly. For example, more than 60% of the 188 countries studied shows maternal mortality rates below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births, effectively hitting the SDG target. In contrast, no nation has reached the objective to end childhood overweight, or to fully eliminate infectious diseases like HIV or tuberculosis.