The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a compass for SolidarMed's projects.
The UN wants to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. SolidarMed also contributes to this with its projects. Meeting the goals will not be easy.
Poverty, hunger, epidemics, lack of education: From 2000 to 2015, the United Nations' so-called Millennium Development Goals determined the global measures to address urgent problems in the global South. For example, child mortality has been halved since 1990.
These goals were superseded by the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, which define the 2030 Agenda. Unlike the previous goals, the SDGs adopted in 2012 at the Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro apply not only to the global South, but to the entire community of nations. With the total of 17 universal goals, the United Nations wants to tackle the urgent ecological, political and economic challenges.
SolidarMed contributed to 13 of the 17 SDGs in 2020.
Networked goals
What is special about the new goals is that they are interwoven and influence each other. Improving access to health care helps fight poverty. Managing resources sustainably also serves to promote peace in a roundabout way.
SolidarMed also works within the framework of the SDGs: they are an important and relevant response to the challenges of the global world community. SolidarMed does not align its projects exclusively with the goals. Projects were already multisectoral before the SDGs. The programs are based on need and effectiveness.
Contribution to various goals
The SDGs are a shared vision. However, clearly defined indicators for monitoring are lacking in many places. The strength of the SDGs, namely the very broad and interlinked objectives, is thus turned into a weakness due to the lack of verifiability. The political will to really want to achieve the SDGs is also lacking in many places.
Not so at SolidarMed. The SDGs confirm our target framework and help us to position ourselves for the future. They have also triggered a thought process and stimulate project development. However, SolidarMed is not only active in Goal No. 3 "Health and well-being". Through its work, SolidarMed also contributes to the achievement of a total of thirteen of the 17 goals, such as "Gender Equality" or "Quality Education".
SolidarMed contributes to the following goals:
Goal 1: End poverty - Only those who are healthy can work. And only those who can provide for themselves and their families have a chance of breaking out of the poverty spiral.
Goal 2: End hunger. To prevent the consequences of malnutrition, SolidarMed supports nutrition programs in health centers.
Goal 3: Health and well-being - SolidarMed ensures that life-saving caesarean sections are also possible in peripheral regions and that the necessary material for a safe birth is available.
Goal 4: High quality education - SolidarMed trains health workers and specialists in the management of infectious and non-communicable diseases. Trained female doctors, nurses and midwives receive mentoring, coaching and postgraduate courses.
Goal 5: Gender Equality - In remote villages, SolidarMed raises awareness about topics such as
Pregnancy, childbirth or family planning. Girls and young women are informed about the risks of early pregnancies.
Goal 6: Access to a reliable and clean water source is essential in health care settings. Adequate sanitation facilities in health posts allow women to take a shower after delivery.
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy - The staff houses are equipped with a self-sufficient energy system thanks to solar collectors. The e-bike ambulance relies entirely on solar power for patient transportation.
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth - SolidarMed enables young people to receive recognized training in the medical field.
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure - Innovation resonates in all projects. SolidarMed measures their success with scientific methods and shares the findings with experts. Infrastructures receive structural improvements such as an operating room.
Goal 10: Reduce inequalities - In Youth Corners and schools, adolescent girls and boys receive knowledge for self-determined sexual health and family planning.
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - By training village samaritans and village health groups, SolidarMed promotes community empowerment and voice.
Goal 13: Climate Protection Measures - Solar energy is often the most cost-effective power supply. Solar power systems replace diesel generators in clinics and ensure operation when fuel is not available.
Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the goals - SolidarMed works with partners in Switzerland and locally. In research, for example, with Medicus Mundi Switzerland, with the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern, or with the Swiss Tropical Institute Swiss TPH in Basel.
