Since 2000, impressive advancements have been made on many health fronts. However, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals health targets by 2030, progress must be accelerated, in particular in regions with the highest burden of disease.

Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health

• In 2015, the global maternal mortality ratio stood at 216 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Achieving the target of less than 70 maternal deaths by 2030 requires an annual rate of reduction of at least 7.5 per cent, more than double the annual rate of progress achieved from 2000 to 2015. Most maternal deaths can be prevented. In 2016, 78 per cent of live births worldwide benefited from skilled care during delivery, compared to 61 per cent in 2000. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the rate in 2016 was only 53 per cent of live births.
• The mortality rate for children under 5 years of age globally was 43 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015. That rate represents a 44 per cent reduction since 2000. Mortality among children under 5 years of age remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, with a rate of 84 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015.
• Children are most vulnerable in the first 28 days of life (the neonatal period). In 2015, the global neonatal mortality rate was 19 deaths per 1,000 live births, a decrease from 31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000. Neonatal mortality is highest in Central and Southern Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa, at 29 deaths per 1,000 live births in each of those regions in 2015.
• Preventing unintended pregnancies and reducing adolescent childbearing through universal access to sexual and reproductive health care is crucial to the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents. In 2017, 78 per cent of women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years of age) worldwide who were married or in union had their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods, up from 75 per cent in 2000. Progress has been substantial in the least developed countries, with a rise of 18 percentage points from 2000 to 2017.
• Globally, the adolescent birth rate among females aged 15 to 19 declined by 21 per cent from 2000 to 2015; in Northern America and Southern Asia, it dropped by more than 50 per cent. However, the adolescent birth rate remains high in two thirds of all countries, with more than 20 births per 1,000 adolescent girls in 2015.

Infectious diseases

• Major advances have been made in combating infectious diseases. Globally in 2015, there were 0.3 new HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infections per 1,000 uninfected people; among children under 15 years of age, there were 0.08 new HIV infections. That data represents a decline of 45 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively, since 2000. The incidence of HIV infection remained highest in sub-Saharan Africa, with 1.5 new infections per 1,000 uninfected people in 2015.
• In 2015, 10.4 million new cases of tuberculosis were reported worldwide, which represents 142 new cases per 100,000 people, or a decline of 17 per cent since 2000. The global malaria incidence rate in 2015 was 94 per 1,000 people at risk, a 41 per cent decrease since 2000. In 2015, 1.6 billion people required mass or individual treatment and care for neglected tropical diseases, a 21 per cent decline from 2010.
• Around 1.34 million deaths were attributed to hepatitis in 2015, including 0.9 million deaths owing to hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccinations; global coverage of vaccinations for that disease among children 1 year of age increased from 29 per cent in 2000 to 84 per cent in 2015.
• A major risk factor for infectious diseases and mortality is the lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, which disproportionately affects sub-Saharan Africa and Central/Southern Asia. Death rates owing to the lack of WASH services in those two regions were 46 and 23 per 100,000 people, respectively, compared to 12 per 100,000 people globally in 2012.

Non-communicable diseases and mental health

• Premature deaths (before 70 years of age) owing to cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease or diabetes totalled about 13 million in 2015, accounting for 43 per cent of all premature deaths globally. From 2000 to 2015, the risk of dying between 30 and 70 years of age from one of those four causes decreased from 23 per cent to 19 per cent, falling short of the rate required to meet the 2030 target of a one-third reduction.
• Such mental disorders as depression can lead to suicide. Nearly 800,000 suicides occurred worldwide in 2015, with men about twice as likely to commit suicide as women.
• Tobacco and alcohol use contributes to the burden of non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been ratified by 180 parties, which represent 90 per cent of the global population. Still, more than 1.1 billion people, mostly men, consumed tobacco in 2015. The prevalence of smoking among those individuals 15 years of age and older dropped from 23 per cent in 2007 to 21 per cent in 2013. In 2016, the average consumption of pure alcohol was 6.4 litres per year per person among those individuals 15 years of age or older.
• Indoor and ambient air pollution is the greatest environmental health risk. Globally in 2012, household air pollution from cooking with unclean fuels or inefficient technologies led to an estimated 4.3 million deaths, while ambient air pollution from traffic, industrial sources, waste burning or residential fuel combustion resulted in an estimated 3 million deaths.

Other health risks

• In 2013, about 1.25 million people died from road traffic injuries, the leading cause of death among males between 15 and 29 years of age. Road traffic deaths have increased by about 13 per cent globally since 2000.
• Worldwide in 2015, an estimated 108,000 people died as a result of unintentional poisoning. That figure represents 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people, a 33 per cent decrease since 2000.

Health systems and funding

• In 2015, total official flows for medical research and basic health from all donor countries and multilateral organizations amounted to $9.7 billion, an increase in real terms of 30 per cent since 2010. Of that amount, the member countries of the Development Assistance Committee of OECD contributed $4.3 billion.
• Available data from 2005 to 2015 indicate that over 40 per cent of all countries have less than one physician per 1,000 people, and around half have fewer than three nurses or midwives per 1,000 people. Almost all least developed countries have less than one physician and fewer than three nurses or midwives per 1,000 people.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, "Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals", E/2017/66

Many more people today are living healthier lives than in the past decade. Nevertheless, people are still suffering needlessly from preventable diseases, and too many are dying prematurely. Overcoming disease and ill health will require concerted and sustained efforts, focusing on population groups and regions that have been neglected.

Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health

• The maternal mortality ratio has declined by 37 per cent since 2000. Nevertheless, in 2015, 303,000 women around the world died due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Over the period 2012–2017, almost 80 per cent of live births worldwide occurred with the assistance of skilled health personnel, up from 62 per cent in 2000–2005.
• Globally, from 2000 to 2016, the under-5 mortality rate dropped by 47 per cent, and the neonatal mortality rate fell by 39 per cent. Over the same period, the total number of under-5 deaths dropped from 9.9 million to 5.6 million.
• Even in the region facing the greatest health challenges, progress has been impressive. Since 2000, the maternal mortality ratio in sub-Saharan Africa has been reduced by 35 per cent, and the under-5 mortality rate has dropped by 50 per cent.
• In 2018, the global adolescent birth rate is 44 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19, compared to 56 in 2000. The highest rate (101) is found in sub-Saharan Africa.

Infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases

• Globally, the incidence of HIV declined from 0.40 to 0.26 per 1,000 uninfected people between 2005 and 2016. For women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa, however, the rate is much higher, at 2.58 per 1,000 uninfected people.
• In 2016, 216 million cases of malaria were reported versus 210 million cases in 2013. There were 140 new cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people in 2016 compared to 173 cases per 100,000 in 2000. Hepatitis B prevalence declined among children under 5— from 4.7 per cent in the pre-vaccine era to 1.3 per cent in 2015.
• In 2016, 1.5 billion people were reported to require mass or individual treatment and care for neglected tropical diseases, down from 1.6 billion in 2015 and 2 billion in 2010.
• Unsafe drinking water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene continue to be major contributors to global mortality, resulting in about 870,000 deaths in 2016. These deaths were mainly caused by diarrhoeal diseases, but also from malnutrition and intestinal nematode infections.
• Globally, 32 million people died in 2016 due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease. The probability of dying from these causes was about 18 per cent in 2016 for people between 30 and 70 years of age.
• In 2016, household and outdoor air pollution led to some 7 million deaths worldwide.

Health systems and funding

• Globally, almost 12 per cent of the world’s population (over 800 million people) spent at least one tenth of their household budgets to pay for health services in 2010, up from 9.7 per cent in 2000.
• Official development assistance (ODA) for basic health from all donors increased by 41 per cent in real terms since 2010, reaching $9.4 billion in 2016.
• Available data from 2005 to 2016 indicate that close to 45 per cent of all countries and 90 per cent of least developed countries (LDCs) have less than one physician per 1,000 people, and over 60 per cent have fewer than three nurses or midwives per 1,000 people.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

Major progress has been made in improving the health of millions of people, increasing life expectancy, reducing maternal and child mortality and fighting against leading communicable diseases. However, progress has stalled or is not happening fast enough with regard to addressing major diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, while at least half the global population does not have access to essential health services and many of those who do suffer undue financial hardship, potentially pushing them into extreme poverty. Concerted efforts are required to achieve universal health coverage and sustainable financing for health, to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, including mental health, and to tackle antimicrobial resistance and determinants of health such as air pollution and inadequate water and sanitation.

Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health

• An estimated 303,000 women around the world died due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth in 2015. Almost all of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, and almost two thirds of those were in sub-Saharan Africa. These deaths are preventable with appropriate management and care. Globally in 2018, 81 per cent of births took place with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant, a significant improvement from 69 per cent in 2012. Coverage of skilled birth attendants in 2018 was only 59 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The under-5 mortality rate fell to 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017, a 6.7 per cent reduction from 42 deaths in 2015, and an overall reduction of 49 per cent from 77 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000. The total number of under-5 deaths dropped to 5.4 million in 2017 from 9.8 million in 2000. Still, most of these deaths were from preventable causes and almost half, or 2.5 million, occurred in the first month of life – the most crucial period for child survival. The global neonatal mortality rate has continued to decline after a long downward trend from 31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 18 in 2017, a 41 per cent reduction.
• Immunization saves millions of lives and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Coverage of the required three doses of the vaccine that prevents diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis increased from 72 per cent in 2000 to 85 per cent in 2015 and has remained unchanged between 2015 and 2017. An estimated 19.9 million children did not receive the vaccines during the first year of life, putting them at serious risk of these potentially fatal diseases. The global coverage of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has the potential to significantly reduce deaths in children under age of 5, has yet to reach 50 per cent. Two doses of the measles vaccine are required to prevent the disease and the illnesses, disabilities and deaths caused by complications associated with it. Coverage with the second dose of measles vaccine increased from 59 per cent in 2015 to 67 per cent in 2017, but that is still insufficient to prevent this highly contagious disease.
• Expanding access to modern contraceptive methods is essential to ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services. Globally, the proportion of women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years old) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern contraceptive methods has continued to increase slowly, from 74 per cent in 2000 to 76 per cent in 2019.
• Adolescent fertility declined from 56 births per 1,000 adolescent women in 2000 to 45 births in 2015 and 44 births in 2019. The level of adolescent fertility has remained high in sub-Saharan Africa, at 101 births per 1,000 adolescent women.

Infectious diseases

• Strong and steady domestic and international commitment and funding has fuelled an acceleration of evidence-informed HIV prevention, testing and treatment programmes. As a result, the incidence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (among adults aged 15 to 49) has declined by 37 per cent, from 3.39 infections per 1,000 uninfected people in 2010 to 2.49 in 2015 and 2.14 in 2017. However, the rate of global HIV incidence among adults aged 15 to 49 declined from 0.44 to 0.40 between 2015 and 2017 and overall by 22 per cent between 2010 and 2017, well short of the declines required to meet 2020 and 2030 targets.
• Tuberculosis remains a leading cause of ill health and death. In 2017, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis. The burden is falling globally: incidence of tuberculosis has continued to decline from 170 new and relapse cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 140 in 2015, and 134 in 2017; and the tuberculosis mortality rate among HIV-negative people fell by 42 per cent between 2000 and 2017. However, large gaps in detection and treatment persist and the current pace of progress is not fast enough to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target, with drug-resistant tuberculosis remaining a continuing threat.
• After more than a decade of steady advances in fighting malaria, progress has stalled.  No significant gains were made in reducing the number of malaria cases worldwide in the period 2015–2017. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry the heaviest burden of disease, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global malaria burden. Worryingly, there were an estimated 3.5 million more malaria cases in the 10 highest-burden African countries in 2017 compared with the previous year.
• In 2015, an estimated 325 million people worldwide were living with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus infection. The widespread use of hepatitis B vaccine in infants has considerably reduced the incidence of new chronic HBV infections, as reflected by the decline in hepatitis B prevalence among children under 5 years of age, from 4.7 per cent in the pre-vaccine era to 0.8 per cent in 2017.
• In 2017, 1.58 billion people were reported as requiring mass or individual treatment and care for neglected tropical diseases, down from 1.63 billion in 2015 and 2.03 billion in 2010. Improved surveillance meant that further populations requiring interventions against such diseases were identified in 2017. The 522 million people requiring treatment and care in least developed countries represented 52 per cent of those countries’ populations, down from 584 million in 2015.

Non-communicable diseases, mental health and environmental risks

• The probability of dying from any of the four main non-communicable diseases – cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes – between the ages of 30 and 70 was 18 per cent in 2016. The risk remains markedly higher for men globally, at 21.6 per cent, compared with 15 per cent for women.
• Progress has been made in reducing the global suicide rate (from 12.9 per 100,000 in 2000 to 10.6 per 100,000 in 2016). However, suicide remains the second-highest cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 globally, with 79 per cent of suicides found in low- and middle-income countries in 2016.
• The prevalence of tobacco use declined from 27 per cent in 2000 to 20 per cent in 2016. Prevalence fell faster for women, from 11 per cent in 2000 to 6 per cent in 2016, compared with men: prevalence in men only fell from 43 per cent to 34 per cent. Despite the positive trends, the number of people dying from a tobacco-related illness was estimated to be more than 8.1 million in 2017.
• The number of road traffic deaths climbed from 1.31 million in 2013 to 1.35 million in 2016. Road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29.
• Air pollution, both ambient and household, increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease and, in 2016, led to some 7 million deaths worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa and most of Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia/New Zealand) have the highest mortality rates associated with air pollution, as a large proportion of the population still rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking.
• Inadequate and unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene is linked to 60 per cent of the disease burden from diarrhoea, 100 per cent of the burden from infections with soil-transmitted helminths and 16 per cent of the burden from protein-energy malnutrition, leading to a total of 870,000 deaths in 2016 from the three conditions.

Health systems and funding

• Official development assistance (ODA) for basic health from all donors increased by 61 per cent in real terms since 2010 and reached $10.7 billion in 2017. In 2017, some $2.0 billion was spent on malaria control, $1.0 billion on tuberculosis control and $2.3 billion on other infectious diseases, excluding HIV/AIDS.
• Available data from 2013 to 2018 indicate that close to 40 per cent of all countries had fewer than 10 medical doctors per 10,000 people, and more than 55 per cent had fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 people. All least developed countries had fewer than 10 medical doctors and fewer than 5 dentists and 5 pharmacists per 10,000 people, and 98 per cent had fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000 people.

Source: Report of the Secretary-General, Special edition: progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3 seeks to ensure health and well-being for all, at every stage of life. The Goal addresses all major health priorities, including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable, non-communicable and environmental diseases; universal health coverage; and access for all to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. It also calls for more research and development, increased health financing, and strengthened capacity of all countries in health risk reduction and management.
• Between 2000 and 2015, the global maternal mortality ratio, or number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, declined by 37 per cent, to an estimated ratio of 216 per 100,000 live births in 2015. Almost all maternal deaths occur in low-resource settings and can be prevented. Globally, 3 out of 4 births were assisted by skilled health-care personnel in 2015. Under-five mortality rates fell rapidly from 2000 to 2015, declining by 44 per cent globally. Nevertheless, an estimated 5.9 million children under the age of 5 died in 2015, with a global under-five mortality rate of 43 per 1,000 live births. The neonatal mortality rate, that is, the likelihood of dying in the first 28 days of life, declined from 31 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 19 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015. Over that period, progress in the rate of child survival among children aged 1 to 59 months outpaced advances in reducing neonatal mortality; as a result, neonatal deaths now represent a larger share (45 per cent) of all under-five deaths.
• Preventing unintended pregnancy and reducing adolescent childbearing through universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services are critical to further advances in the health of women, children and adolescents. Worldwide, in 2015, approximately 3 in 4 women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years of age) who were married or in union satisfied their need for family planning by using modern contraceptive methods; in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania, however, the share was less than half. Childbearing in adolescence has steadily declined in almost all regions, but wide disparities persist: in 2015, the birth rate among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 ranged from 7 births per 1,000 girls in Eastern Asia to 102 births per 1,000 girls in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The incidence of major infectious diseases, including HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, has declined globally since 2000. Globally in 2015, the number of new HIV infections among all people was 0.3 new infections per 1,000 uninfected people; 2.1 million people became newly infected that year. The incidence of HIV was highest in sub-Saharan Africa, with 1.5 new cases per 1,000 uninfected people. In 2014, 9.6 million new cases of tuberculosis (133 cases per 100,000 people) were reported worldwide, with 58 per cent of them in South-Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific. Almost half the world’s population is at risk of malaria and, in 2015, the incidence rate was 91 new cases per 1,000 people at risk, an estimated total of 214 million cases. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 89 per cent of all malaria cases worldwide, with an incidence rate of 235 cases per 1,000 people at risk. In 2014, at least 1.7 billion people, in 185 countries, required treatment for at least one neglected tropical disease.
• According to estimates from 2012, around 38 million deaths per year, accounting for 68 per cent of all deaths worldwide, were attributable to non communicable diseases. Of all deaths among persons under the age of 70, commonly referred to as premature deaths, an estimated 52 per cent were as a result of non-communicable diseases. Over three quarters of premature deaths were caused by cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease. Globally, premature mortality from those four main categories of non communicable disease declined by 15 per cent between 2000 and 2012. Reducing tobacco use will be critical for meeting the proposed target of reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third. In 2015, over 1.1 billion people consumed tobacco, with far more male (945 million) than female (180 million) smokers.
• Unhealthy environmental conditions increase the risk of both non communicable and infectious diseases, which is reflected in the strong integrated nature of the Goals. In 2012, an estimated 889,000 people died from infectious diseases caused largely by faecal contamination of water and soil and by inadequate hand-washing facilities and practices resulting from poor or non-existent sanitation services. In 2012, household and ambient air pollution resulted in some 6.5 million deaths.
• Substance use and substance-use disorders have also created a significant public health burden. Worldwide, average alcohol consumption in 2015 was estimated at 6.3l of pure alcohol per person among those aged 15 or older, with wide variations across countries. Alcohol consumption was highest in the developed regions (10.4l per person) and lowest in Northern Africa (0.5l per person). In 2013, only about 1 in 6 people worldwide suffering from drug-use disorders received treatment. Approximately 1 in 18 people with drug-use disorders received treatment in Africa that year, compared with 1 in 5 in Western and Central Europe.
• Mental disorders occur in all regions and cultures. The most common are anxiety and depression, which, not infrequently, can lead to suicide. In 2012, an estimated 800,000 people worldwide committed suicide, and 86 per cent of them were under the age of 70. Globally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among those between the ages of 15 and 29.
• Around 1.25 million people died from road traffic injuries in 2013. Halving the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020 is an ambitious goal given the dramatic increase in the number of vehicles, which nearly doubled between 2000 and 2013.
• Total official flows from all providers for medical research and basic health sectors were $8.9 billion in 2014. Within this total, official development assistance (ODA) from DAC donors was $4.5 billion in 2014, an increase of 20 per cent in real terms since 2010, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America accounting for $2.6 billion of that total. In 2014, $1 billion was spent on malaria control and $1.2 billion was spent on other infectious diseases, excluding AIDS.