Report on WHO Roadmap for Action 2025–2030: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals

Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a comprehensive roadmap for action spanning 2025 to 2030, aimed at enhancing access to safe, effective, and quality-assured health products and technologies. This initiative is critical for Member States and stakeholders to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to universal health coverage (UHC).

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

The roadmap directly supports the achievement of SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It emphasizes:

1. Financial risk protection
2. Access to quality essential health-care services
3. Access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines

These targets are integral to SDG 3.8, which focuses on universal health coverage, including access to quality health services and medicines.

WHO’s Role and Strategic Objectives

WHO’s expertise and leadership are pivotal in addressing the complex challenges within the health product and technology ecosystem. The roadmap aligns with WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work, especially Strategic Objective 3:

• Advance the primary health care approach
• Strengthen essential health system capacities
• Promote universal health coverage

Programmatic Priority Areas

The roadmap outlines five key programmatic priority areas to improve access to health products and technologies. These areas include:

1. Ensuring availability of quality-assured health products
2. Enhancing regulatory capacity and oversight
3. Promoting innovation and research in health technologies
4. Strengthening supply chain management and distribution
5. Fostering partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders

Conclusion

The WHO roadmap for 2025–2030 is a strategic framework that supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by improving access to essential health products and technologies. Through its leadership and targeted priorities, WHO aims to facilitate universal health coverage and strengthen health systems globally.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The article focuses on increasing access to safe, effective, and quality-assured health products and technologies, which directly relates to SDG 3’s aim to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
   • Specifically, the article mentions universal health coverage, access to essential health-care services, and access to affordable medicines and vaccines, all core components of SDG 3.

2. Specific Targets Under the Identified SDGs

1. Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage
   • The article explicitly mentions universal health coverage, including financial risk protection and access to quality essential health-care services.
   • It emphasizes access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all, which is a key aspect of Target 3.8.
2. Target 3.b: Support research and development of vaccines and medicines
   • The article highlights WHO’s role in increasing access to quality-assured health products and technologies, implying support for research, development, and distribution.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied to Measure Progress

1. Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services
   • The article’s focus on access to quality essential health-care services implies the use of this indicator to measure progress towards universal health coverage.
2. Indicator 3.8.2: Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income
   • Financial risk protection mentioned in the article relates to this indicator, measuring affordability and financial protection in health care.
3. Indicators related to access to medicines and vaccines
   • While not explicitly stated, the article’s emphasis on access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines suggests monitoring indicators such as the availability and affordability of these products.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: who.int