Health and related indicators.

Introduction.

Just as 2015 saw the target date set for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) being reached, with a global effort to track progress towards achieving those ambitious goals, so 2016 is the first year for a new series of such goals, with an even more ambitious scope. In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly hosted the Sustainable Development Summit in New York, which endorsed a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).a The range of the SDGs has been expanded. A total of 17 SDGs have been set, ranging from “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” (Goal 1) to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels” (Goal 16), with a commitment to “strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development” (Goal 17). SDG3 is specific to Health: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. As with the MDGs, each SDG has a series of targets.