Southeast Asian countries are likely to miss 2030 health-related SDG targets. No country expected to eliminate infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Researchers say that accelerated action needed, not new timelines.

By Sanjeet Bagcchi 

All ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to miss global goals on combating infectious diseases, according to new analysis tracking the region’s health progress.

While some countries are expected to end malaria by 2030, major challenges remain to eliminate HIV/AIDs, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and neglected tropical diseases, the study found, with new HIV/AIDS cases increasing steadily in the past decade.

Meanwhile, Singapore was the only country in the bloc projected to achieve the UN target for tackling non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and for road injuries, which are escalating across the region.

Published in the journal PLOS Medicine, researchers examined data from 1990 to 2021 to estimate the progress of ASEAN countries towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. These also include targets on nutrition, maternal, child and reproductive health, environment health, and universal health coverage.

They found that although countries are committed to the 2030 targets, they face significant challenges due to unequal financial and social development.

“If countries fall short, it won’t be due to lack of ambition, but rather due to underlying inequities in access, financing, and governance that must be addressed regardless of the date,” said Paul Pronyk, a co-author of the study and a director of the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness, in the US.

“The consequence is not just missed targets, but preventable illness and financial strain on already stretched systems.”

Countries such as Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines encounter considerable difficulties in meeting the goals, the study says, with the Philippines’ overall score even regressing.

The likelihood of attaining the infectious disease-related target was particularly low for the Philippines due to its poor control of TB, HIV and hepatitis B, according to the analysis.

Meanwhile, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam saw a 40 to 90 per cent increase in harmful alcohol consumption — among the highest in the world — which, along with high smoking rates, is fuelling chronic disease.

Countries falling behind often struggle with rural poverty, low education levels, and weak public health infrastructure, which limit and delay access to healthcare, says Pronyk, who is also a co-director of Singapore’s SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.

The ASEAN region — home to 667 million people — is also particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

In Cambodia and Laos, progress on communicable diseases is restricted by persistent gaps in the healthcare workforce and diagnostics, while in the Philippines, fragmentation across public and private systems is affecting quality and cost-efficiency of healthcare, according to Pronyk.

Despite this, all ASEAN countries made positive progress on nutrition, including the prevalence of stunting among children under five, according to the study

“With targeted investments in primary care, health literacy, and cross-sectoral policy coordination, these lagging countries can still close critical gaps before 2030,” said Pronyk.

Move the goalpost?

He believes moving the SDG goalposts, as some would advocate for, is not the solution.

“What’s needed now is not a new timeline, but accelerated, equity-driven action,” he urged.

“The 2030 deadline is a powerful anchor for political accountability and should be upheld.

“Extending the timeline risks diluting the urgency, particularly in areas like non-communicable disease and environmental health where delayed action leads to compounding health burdens.”

The UN adopted the SDGs in 2015 as a call to eliminate poverty, safeguard the planet, and make sure that all people have the benefits of prosperity and peace by 2030.

There are 17 SDGs, with “health” the central focus of SDG 3. Key targets of SDG 3 include: ending the epidemics of AIDS, TB, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and tackling water-borne diseases, hepatitis and other communicable diseases; decreasing the global maternal mortality ratio to lower than 70 per 100,000 live births, and lowering the number of deaths and illnesses from unsafe chemicals and water, air and soil pollution and contamination.

“ASEAN countries should develop and implement robust strategies to address these health issues to improve effectively the health of their populations,” researchers urge in the study.

They recommend that successes in high-performing countries should be shared regionally to help those falling behind.

Diptendra Sarkar, a public health analyst and professor at India’s Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, says:

“The study emphasises the fact that socio- economic development is a key to achieve [health-related SDG] targets.

“Political stability and a tolerant society can push the social psyche to homogeneous socio-economic growth, [which] in turn is likely push a country to achieve the 2030 health goals.”

This piece has been sourced from SciDev.Net

Image:  Adri Berger/ILO. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)