This week, WHO/Europe participated in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s 2021 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development. Held under the theme “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and action and delivery on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the UNECE Region”, it included a specific focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 12 and 13, and the 2020 targets.
Beginning on 10 March 2021, the Regional Forum included peer-learning round tables and side events. It concluded on 18 March with a hybrid plenary.
Delivering a keynote address during the Opening and High-Level Policy Segment, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge said, “The pandemic has harshly exposed the inequalities that exist in our societies: it has disproportionally affected the elderly, youth, women, migrants and refugees, it has magnified health, social and economic vulnerabilities.”
Investments and reforms in health- and social-care systems are essential to deliver on the 2030 Agenda and leave no one behind. These efforts will contribute to healthy and resilient systems and societies for generations to come.
The event was held in the lead-up to the 2021 United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development (6–15 July 2021), where United Nations Regional Commissions will convene a multistakeholder forum in their respective regions to share experiences and discuss concrete ways to achieve the SDGs.
Rebuilding from the pandemic
A sustainable, resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic can be achieved, and the SDGs are central to this process. To discuss the way forward, the first part of the hybrid plenary session brought together delegates from Portugal and Romania alongside President of the Economic and Social Council Mr Munir Akram, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Ms Amina J. Mohammed, and Executive Secretary of the UNECE Ms Olga Algayerova.
This was followed by a session exploring how to tackle the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 and promote a sustainable recovery. It built on virtual peer-learning sessions on the themes of people, prosperity and planet to identify what Member States can do to address these issues.
Earlier this week, the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development, convened by Dr Kluge and chaired by former Italian Prime Minister Professor Mario Monti, released a call to action identifying how countries and decision-makers must rethink policy priorities in the light of pandemics. It highlighted the need to cooperate and protect against future health threats while ensuring the inclusion of marginalized socioeconomic groups.
Voluntary national reviews
The second day of the hybrid plenary session focused on experiences from the Region with voluntary national reviews (VNRs). These are developed by countries wishing to present their progress towards the SDGs at the HLPF. This year, 10 countries from the WHO European Region expressed an interest in presenting a VNR: Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
For health stakeholders, participating in the process of development of a VNR is an opportunity to promote leadership for health and well-being and appeal for recovery efforts that are transformative for health- and social-care systems.
Between 2016 and 2020, 52 countries of the European Region submitted 60 VNRs. Analysis of the VNRs and surveys carried out by WHO/Europe show that all Member States of the Region have established new forms of leadership, governance arrangements and policy measures, and taken actions to advance implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Most Member States report health and well-being as a development priority. The most frequently reported health priorities are universal health coverage, reduction of premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases and access to health services for all.
However, there remains considerable scope for intersectoral action for health and well-being at national and particularly subnational levels, and for the health sector to influence not just a country’s policies on their health system but also policies affecting the wider determinants of health.
Many Member States also point to priorities related to eliminating poverty in all forms; ending malnutrition, with an emphasis on reducing overweight and obesity; creating safe and inclusive cities; addressing climate change and air pollution; as well as a range of migration-related issues.
Financing for health remains a problem, with reported challenges including inefficient and insufficient public spending for health, continued reliance on development aid in some countries, and difficulties in mobilizing resources for sustainable development.
Weak national and subnational health information systems, poor data quality and availability, and poor analytical capacity are core challenges to monitoring and reporting on health and well-being and the SDGs.
European Programme of Work
Ensuring more people have access to universal health coverage, enjoy better health and well-being, and are better protected from health emergencies are core pillars of the European Programme of Work 2020–2025 – “United Action for Better Health in Europe”.
Health and well-being in the voluntary national reviews of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the WHO European Region 2016–2020 (2020) Health and well-being and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the WHO European Region: an analysis of policy development and implementation (2021) Rethinking policy priorities in the light of pandemics: a call to action (2021) European Programme of Work 2020–2025 2021 UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2021 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
