Health & Education in Conjunction with SDGs
The UN Sustainable Development Goals were created to keep us on a pathway to end poverty, preserve our environment, achieve peace, and promote prosperity throughout the member nations. It is a partnership led globally and we truly must all do our part. There are 17 goals, but for the purpose of this blog post we will be focusing on goal number 3; good health and well-being and goal number 4; quality education, which will help boost goal number 8; economic growth. Read on to see some of our proposed solutions to make this a reality.
Health; Innovative Solutions
Health is something we take for granted from time to time. Without efficient global health, we can’t have anything. We saw with COVID-19 how one city had an impact on the entire world. Wuhan was not well known before 2020, but now everyone knows the name. At the root of healthcare is our healthcare workers. One of the solutions I want to propose is funding directly towards healthcare workers. While health system programs are vital, the source of it all, healthcare workers, are just as vital. Frontline healthcare workers are being run down, not paid properly; in Africa 86% of healthcare workers are volunteers (care.org), and not given enough resources. When in this happens in developing countries, there becomes the problem of brain drain. Trained and educated healthcare workers in developing countries will leave to work in developed countries because that is where they can make a living. This leaves a void in developing countries where healthcare is extremely important. Having a specific pot of funds that goes to support these frontline workers would make radical change. Specific funding to give health professionals and midwives, mental health support, fair pay, and reliable training will allow patients to get the care needed all over the globe. I also want to propose not only funding basic training for healthcare workers, but also training for emergency relief. This will help communities if another pandemic hits again. One of the things we saw from COVID-19 was that the countries who were ill-prepared to deal with emergency rapidly, were hit the hardest. Additionally, I want to advocate for funding towards free education to the public on sanitation and nutrition. Basic knowledge can help prevent a lot of illness from arising in the first place. This transitions us well into our next proposals which deal with education, as you can see, they go hand in hand.
Education; Innovative Solutions
Not only is public health a backbone to communities, but so is education. There was a study done in Bangladesh. Two NGOs went to Bangladesh, Grameen Bank and BRAC. These NGOs held many classes on women’s empowerment and helped them understand microfinance by managing small loans. There is a correlation between female empowerment and fertility rates. On page 169 of ‘The Age of Sustainable Development’ it states, “A mother in the labor force who earns her own income knows through experience and through knowledge from her peers that having fewer children will not only enable her to spend more time at work to earn a higher income but will also enable the household to invest more in each of her children” (Sachs, J). At the bottom of the page, we see a graph that demonstrates a decline in the fertility rate in Bangladesh. In the 1970s-1980s the fertility rate was around 7 children, but by 2010-2015 we see it has reached almost 2 children per mother. A little education can go a long way.
This notion that additional education is beneficial is demonstrated, particularly in nations where people are subject to educational year limits and do not complete their degrees. Education is representative of how well a country’s human capital can develop and flourish, breaking into new job markets. For example, Morocco, suffered a blow to its economy during crises because its human capital is not developed and there is not a wide variety of job markets. A huge factor in this outcome is the fact the average education length is 6 years whilst in other countries where human capital is flourishing the average length of education is 10 years. This difference is very significant and shows the importance of educating the youth in society. The solution Morocco recently has incorporated is increasing their budget from 62.5 to 69 billion dirhams between 2022 and 2023. This will allow for better educators and more resources for all children to get a quality education as positive strides are made to improve sustainability and development.
Will You Do Your Part?
Mr. Beast, a popular YouTuber and philanthropist, gained immense recognition for his philanthropic efforts and impact on various social causes, one of which was building 100 wells throughout Africa.
Now although this video advocates for the step 6 goal of (SDG) clean water and sanitation, it briefly mentions additional allocations regarding goal number 3; good health and well-being and goal number 4; quality education. During the video around (Mr. Beast, 2023, 3:53), he emphasizes on how he could donate brand-new computers, books, bookshelves, furniture, white boards, and projectors in classrooms for the betterment of children and their education. In the same video he provided easy access to water to a local hospital in Zimbabwe that delivered around 600 babies every year. This is significant because, According to World bank gender data portal “357 women die per 100,000 live births due to pregnancy-related causes in Zimbabwe. The maternal mortality ratio in Zimbabwe has improved from 388 in 2000 to 357 in 2020.” This donation will help the health of pregnant woman in Zimbabwe and in the future for women around the world. It is stated that “A women dies every two minutes from preventable causes related pregnancy and childbirth” according to the sustainable development goals report 2023. Donating to hospitals where women give birth. Mothers’ health is ensured by lowering the rate of maternal death during childbirth, and investing in education gives people the skills they need for greater employment opportunities. This combination creates a more capable and competitive workforce, which in turn improves the health and productivity of the labor force and eventually contributes to economic growth.
The video of Mr. beast building 100 Wells in Africa accumulated 72 million views. For those who felt inspired by the video and wanted to improve upon health and education it’s important to know that donating to charities is a powerful way for individuals to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here are some steps on where and what people can do to help through charitable donations.
1. Start by researching and identifying reputable charities that align with the specific SDGs or causes you are passionate about. Websites like Charity Navigator and GuideStar can help you evaluate the effectiveness and transparency of different organizations.
2. Determine which SDGs matter most to you. Whether it is providing clean water and sanitation, eradicating poverty, or promoting quality education, there are charities dedicated to various goals.
3. Research how efficiently charities use donations to make a real impact. Seek organizations that allocate a massive portion of their funds directly to programs and projects, rather than administrative costs.
4. Support organizations that are transparent about their goals, progress, and outcomes. Charities that provide regular updates on their work build trust with donors.
Remember that charitable giving is not limited to monetary contributions. Donating your time, skills, or resources can also make a significant impact. Whether you choose to give locally or globally, regularly or on a one-time basis, your support can help organizations make progress toward achieving the SDGs. By aligning your donations with the specific goals that matter most to you, you become an essential part of the global effort to create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous world.
It is crucial we allocate funds in the areas of health and education for sustainable development and economic growth worldwide. We hope these proposals spark conversation when it is time for the government to put their money where their mouth is.
References
Care – Fighting Global Poverty and World Hunger, www.care.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/RGA_SheToldUsSo_9.18.20.pdf. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.
“Good health and Well-being.” sdgs.un, accessed 4 November 2023, https://sdgs.un.org
“Health: Reproductive health.” Zimbabwe. https://genderdata.worldbank.org Accessed 9 November 2023
“I Built 100 Wells in Africa”. YouTube, uploaded by Mr. Beast, 4 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com
Sachs, Jeffrey D. The Age of Sustainable Development. Columbia University Press, 2015.
“The 17 Goals | Sustainable Development.” United Nations, United Nations, sdgs.un.org/goals. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.
YouTube, 17 Sept. 2021, https://youtu.be/33jozrgxaMM. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.
“Financing Strategy.” Integrated National Financing Framework, inff.org/inff-building blocks/financing-strategy.