Health, faith leaders meet to discuss barriers to quality healthcare access in Shelby Co. – Action News 5

Report on Shelby County Community Health Forum: A Focus on Sustainable Development Goals

1. Introduction: A Partnership for Community Wellness

A collaborative forum was held in Memphis, Tennessee, uniting Shelby County health officials and local faith leaders to address pressing community health issues. The discussion, which took place at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library, centered on developing strategic partnerships to improve health outcomes, directly aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning health, equality, and partnerships.

2. Alignment with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The forum’s agenda demonstrated a strong commitment to achieving SDG 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Key areas of focus correlated with specific SDG 3 targets:

• Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children. The discussion on reducing high infant mortality rates in the community is a direct local effort to meet this global objective.
• Target 3.4: Reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health. The emphasis on tackling diabetes and the introduction of a “total wellness” model—encompassing spiritual, mental, and physical well-being by Interim Health Director Dr. Bruce Randolph—supports this target.
• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage. Dr. Sarita Wilson-Anderson of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital highlighted the critical need to “eradicate those barriers and make sure everyone has access to quality health care,” which is the foundational principle of universal health coverage.

3. Alignment with SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

This initiative serves as a prime example of SDG 17, which encourages partnerships between governments, the private sector, and civil society. The collaboration between the Shelby County Health Department (a public entity) and local faith leaders (civil society) creates a multi-stakeholder platform essential for achieving sustainable health improvements and addressing community-specific needs effectively.

4. Key Forum Objectives and Strategies

The primary objectives outlined during the forum aim to create a comprehensive framework for community health improvement, reflecting the principles of both SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 3.

1. Address Health Disparities: A central goal is to identify and overcome the numerous barriers to healthcare that disproportionately affect certain communities, thereby working to reduce health inequalities.
2. Tackle Specific Health Crises: The forum prioritized actionable strategies for two significant local health challenges: infant mortality and the prevalence of diabetes.
3. Promote Holistic Health: The “total wellness” concept was promoted as a comprehensive approach, recognizing that mental and spiritual health are integral components of overall physical well-being.
4. Foster Collaborative Solutions: The event was designed as a brainstorming session to generate innovative and cooperative methods for health officials and faith leaders to improve community access to healthcare resources.

1. SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The article’s primary focus is on community health, directly aligning with SDG 3. It explicitly mentions key health challenges such as “infant mortality rates,” “diabetes,” and the need for “mental well-being.” The discussion on brainstorming “ways to increase access to healthcare” and eradicating “barriers to health care” further solidifies this connection.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The article describes a collaborative effort between “Shelby County health officials and local faith leaders.” This partnership between a public institution and civil society organizations to achieve common health goals is a clear example of the multi-stakeholder collaborations promoted by SDG 17. The forum itself is an initiative to “work together to overcome and improve the situation.”

2. Specific SDG Targets Identified

Targets under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

• Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5. The article’s specific mention of “infant mortality rates” as a topic of discussion directly relates to this target, which aims to reduce neonatal and under-5 mortality.
• Target 3.4: Reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote mental health. The focus on “diabetes,” a major NCD, connects to this target. Furthermore, the health department’s push for “total wellness,” which includes “mental well-being,” is explicitly named in this target.
• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including access to quality essential health-care services. The article highlights the need to “increase access to healthcare” and quotes a participant who states, “we all need to work together to figure out ways to eradicate those barriers and make sure everyone has access to quality health care.” This directly reflects the goal of universal health coverage.

Target under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. The entire premise of the article—a forum where “Shelby County health officials and local faith leaders” discuss how they can “work together”—is an embodiment of this target. It showcases a public-civil society partnership aimed at achieving development goals (in this case, health-related ones).

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied

Indicators for SDG 3

• Indicator 3.2.1 (Under-5 mortality rate) / 3.2.2 (Neonatal mortality rate): The article explicitly mentions “infant mortality rates” as a key health challenge being discussed. This is a direct indicator used to measure progress towards Target 3.2.
• Indicator 3.4.1 (Mortality rate from NCDs): The mention of “diabetes” implies the use of indicators related to the prevalence of, and mortality from, non-communicable diseases to measure the community’s health status.
• Indicator 3.8.1 (Coverage of essential health services): The discussion around “access to healthcare” and the presence of “barriers to health care” implies the need to measure the proportion of the population that can access quality health services, which is the essence of this indicator.

Indicators for SDG 17

• Indicator 17.17.1 (Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships): While the article does not mention a financial value, the existence of the “Shelby County Health Department Church Leader Health Forum” itself serves as a qualitative indicator of a functioning and active partnership between public and civil society sectors, which is what this target aims to promote.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: actionnews5.com