Sustainable Development Goal 3
Also called: SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being · Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), called "Good Health and Well-being", is one of the 17 goals of the UN's Agenda 2030. Agenda 2030 was adopted in September 2015 and runs from 2015 to 2030. SDG 3 aims to "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages", from newborns to the elderly. Its targets include:
- fewer deaths of mothers and young children
- ending epidemics such as AIDS, TB and malaria
- universal health coverage (UHC), which means everyone gets the care they need without falling into financial hardship
It matters because poor health and high medical bills keep families poor. Better health is part of development, not something extra added on top.
Example
India's main push towards SDG 3 is through Ayushman Bharat. Under AB PM-JAY, an eligible family gets hospital cover of up to ₹5 lakh a year, which cuts out-of-pocket expenditure (money patients pay from their own pocket). Ayushman Arogya Mandirs provide primary care close to home. NITI Aayog's SDG India Index (since 2018) scores states on how far they have progressed on this goal.
Don't confuse with
- Universal health coverage: UHC is only one target inside SDG 3. SDG 3 is the whole goal, and it also covers epidemics, child and maternal health, and other health issues.
- Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): these were the 8 goals for 2000-15, with health split across separate goals. The SDGs replaced them in 2015 and brought health together in a single goal, SDG 3, that covers all ages.