Report on the Northeast Public Health Collaborative and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Regional Partnership for Global Goals

In early 2025, a coalition of Northeastern states and New York City formally established the Northeast Public Health Collaborative. This voluntary regional partnership is designed to strengthen public health infrastructure and advance key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by fostering cooperation among public health agencies. The collaborative represents a significant step towards achieving SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by creating a multi-jurisdictional platform to share expertise, enhance capacity, and promote evidence-based public health policies.

Core Mission: Advancing SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

The primary objective of the Collaborative is to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all residents, directly contributing to the targets of SDG 3. The group’s shared purpose is to innovate and reimagine core services to ensure trust in public health and respond effectively to health threats.

• Universal Health Coverage (Target 3.8): A central goal is to ensure equitable access to vaccines, medications, and essential health services for all regional populations.
• Infectious Disease and Emergency Preparedness (Target 3.d): The Collaborative strengthens regional readiness for public health emergencies, enhancing capacity for early warning, risk reduction, and management of health risks.
• Science-Based Health Information: By providing information based on science, data, and evidence, the partnership works to strengthen confidence in vaccines and science-based medicine, a foundational element for a healthy populace.

Strategic Initiatives and Multi-Goal Impact

The Collaborative has established interjurisdictional working groups to identify opportunities for shared planning across multiple public health disciplines. These initiatives demonstrate a comprehensive approach that addresses several interconnected SDGs.

1. Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response: This workstream focuses on coordinated responses to health crises. A notable example is the collaborative planning related to three FIFA World Cup host cities, which directly supports SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by enhancing the safety and resilience of urban centers during large-scale international events.
2. Vaccine Recommendations and Purchasing: By coordinating on vaccine strategies, the group aims to improve health outcomes and equity, a core tenet of SDG 3.
3. Data Collection and Analysis: Shared data practices enhance epidemiological capacity, leading to more effective and informed public health interventions, contributing to the development of effective, accountable, and transparent institutions as outlined in SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
4. Workforce Development: The Collaborative is exploring workforce pipeline activities to address understaffing in the public health sector. This initiative aligns with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by promoting the creation of a sustainable and resilient public health workforce.

Institutional Strengthening and Governance

Fostering SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The formation of the Collaborative is a practical application of SDG 16, which calls for building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. By working to rebuild public trust and reject misinformation, the partnership strengthens the integrity and efficacy of public health agencies. The voluntary nature of the coalition, which respects the unique laws and populations of each member, exemplifies a flexible and effective governance model.

A Model for SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The Northeast Public Health Collaborative serves as an incubator for solutions and a framework for regional resilience. It embodies the spirit of SDG 17 by demonstrating how sub-national governments can work together to optimize shared resources, build adaptable systems, and achieve common objectives that transcend administrative borders. This partnership enhances the collective capacity to protect core public health principles and services for millions of residents.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The article’s primary focus is on public health. The formation of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative is explicitly to “protect the health, safety and well-being of all residents,” respond to “public health threats,” advance “community health,” and ensure “equitable access to vaccines, medications and services.” This directly aligns with the core mission of SDG 3.
2. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The entire article describes the creation and purpose of a “voluntary regional coalition” and “regional partnership.” This collaborative effort among several states and a major city to “share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity” and “optimize the use of shared resources” is a clear example of the multi-stakeholder partnerships promoted by SDG 17.
3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The collaborative’s focus on strengthening “public health emergency preparedness and response” connects to making communities more resilient. The article mentions preparing for large-scale events like the FIFA World Cup and the goal to build a “more adaptable, sustainable, and resilient public health framework,” which contributes to the safety and resilience of the urban and regional communities involved.
4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The initiative aims to strengthen public health institutions by making them more effective and coordinated. The emphasis on providing “information based on science, data, and evidence,” working to “ensure trust in public health,” and rebuilding “public trust” speaks directly to developing effective, accountable, and transparent institutions.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being):
   • Target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases. The collaborative’s work on “infectious disease, epidemiology,” responding to “pandemics or an outbreak,” and issuing guidance for “respiratory virus season” directly addresses the control of communicable diseases.
   • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. The stated goal to “ensure equitable access to vaccines, medications and services” and the working group on “vaccine recommendations and purchasing” align with this target.
   • Target 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks. The collaborative’s purpose to “strengthen regional readiness” and enhance “public health emergency preparedness and response” is a direct application of this target at a regional level.
2. Under SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):
   • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. The Northeast Public Health Collaborative is a multi-stakeholder partnership (among public health agencies) designed to “share expertise” and “innovating and reimagining core services.”
   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. This initiative is a prime example of an effective public-public partnership to achieve common health goals.
3. Under SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities):
   • Target 11.b: By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters and holistic disaster risk management. The goal to build a “more adaptable, sustainable, and resilient public health framework” contributes directly to resilience against disasters, specifically public health emergencies.
4. Under SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions):
   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The collaborative’s efforts to “promote and protect evidence-based public health,” “rebuild public trust,” and ground decisions in “science, data, and evidence” are aimed at making public health institutions more effective and trusted by the public they serve.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For SDG 3 Targets:
   • Progress towards Target 3.3 (communicable diseases) is implied through the activities of working groups on “infectious disease, epidemiology and laboratory capacity.” Measurable indicators would be joint surveillance reports, reduced response times to outbreaks, and the development of shared guidance documents, such as the one mentioned for “respiratory virus season.”
   • Progress towards Target 3.8 (universal health coverage) can be measured by indicators of equitable access. The article implies this through the goal of ensuring “equitable access to vaccines, medications and services.” An indicator would be regional vaccination coverage rates or joint purchasing agreements that lower costs.
   • Progress towards Target 3.d (health emergency preparedness) is indicated by the formation of “interjurisdictional working groups” on the topic and collaborative planning for events like the FIFA World Cup. A measurable indicator would be the existence and quality of a shared regional emergency response plan.
2. For SDG 17 Targets:
   • Progress towards Targets 17.16 and 17.17 (partnerships) is indicated by the formal establishment of the “Northeast Public Health Collaborative” itself. Further indicators are the number of active “interjurisdictional working groups” and the frequency of information sharing and joint planning activities mentioned in the article.
3. For SDG 11 Targets:
   • Progress towards Target 11.b (resilience) is implied by the stated goal of creating a “resilient public health framework.” An indicator of this would be the development and implementation of joint plans for “public health emergency preparedness and response.”
4. For SDG 16 Targets:
   • Progress towards Target 16.6 (effective institutions) can be measured by public trust levels. The article explicitly states a goal to “ensure trust in public health” and “rebuild public trust.” Surveys measuring public confidence in health institutions would be a relevant indicator. The number of science-based guidance documents produced collaboratively is another indicator of institutional effectiveness.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nj.gov