International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
June 17-19th 2013, United Nations Headquarters
The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) represents 1.3 million future
physicians in over 100 countries, in all regions of the world. As a member of the Major Group of
Children and Youth, the IFMSA advocates for health and youth-friendly policies in all three pillars of
sustainable development. Youth are the largest and fastest-growing demographic around the world
and have a critical stake in global development policy.
After all, it's our future.
IFMSA on Sustainable Development
The three issues most important to the IFMSA are:
HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES
• All sectors impact health and health impacts all sectors. Policy must reflect this integration.
• Health metrics help coordinate inter-sectoral projects and improve governance.
• The private sector impacts health through misaligned research and development priorities,
environmental degradation, and products with negative health impacts.
HEALTH-SENSITIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
• Health-sensitive indicators across all sustainable development dimensions will help drive and
measure programmes leading to more accountability and improved governance. Some
examples are listed below:
Themes Relevant Health or Health-sensitive Indicators
Social Pillar Rates of: unemployment, educational attainment, substance abuse,
disability (physical and mental health)
Environmental Pillar Deaths due to: diarrheal disease, air pollution or natural disasters
Economic Pillar GINI coefficient of income inequality, proportion of Gross Domestic
Product spent on health and social services, income lost due to illness
Agriculture, Nutrition and
Food Security
Rates of: under- and over-nourishment, access to nutritious food
Transport and Cities Rates of: traffic fatalities, homicides, access to sanitation and clean
water, access to active transport
Gender Income inequality, expected educational attainment, healthy life
expectancy
Energy Per capita energy consumption, type and source of energy use, deaths
attributed to indoor air pollution
• Sustainable Development Indicators must be disaggregated by gender, age, location
(including rural/urban), people living with disabilities, educational background, economic
quintile, and relevant social groups to measure whether the framework reaches the poorest
and most vulnerable populations
• The health data disparity must be closed. More than 25 countries do not keep accurate birth
and death records while others have national electronic health records.
• More frequent measurements are needed: annually → monthly → real-time
SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
• Healthy systems make healthy populations.
• Health systems must be blind to socio-economic status.
• Universal health coverage will strengthen economies, improve population health outcomes and
enhance international relations.
• Strong health systems complement disease-specific programmes because they address
the social, environmental and economic determinants of illness and well-being.
• Access to health care and the quality of health services are equally important.
Health can be the cross-cutting issue of sustainable development. High-quality indicators exist and
targets can be set to incorporate Health in all Policies into the new development framework. The
global development community already measures and uses many of these indicators but does not link
them together. Health is the foundation upon which the three pillars of sustainable development are
unified.
The IFMSA asks you to commit to embedding health in the Sustainable Development Goals. We seek
to work with you on health and youth policy. The 1.3 million future physicians that we represent
recognize that disease and disability prevention and global development are an integral part of
modern medical practice.
Please help us to advocate for:
• Health in all Policies
• Health-sensitive Sustainable Development Indicators
• Systems Transformation toward Universal Health Coverage
--
Contact information:
Roopa Dhatt, IFMSA President
+15105207193 | president@ifmsa.org
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations | www.ifmsa.org
June 17-19th 2013, United Nations Headquarters
The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) represents 1.3 million future
physicians in over 100 countries, in all regions of the world. As a member of the Major Group of
Children and Youth, the IFMSA advocates for health and youth-friendly policies in all three pillars of
sustainable development. Youth are the largest and fastest-growing demographic around the world
and have a critical stake in global development policy.
After all, it's our future.
IFMSA on Sustainable Development
The three issues most important to the IFMSA are:
HEALTH IN ALL POLICIES
• All sectors impact health and health impacts all sectors. Policy must reflect this integration.
• Health metrics help coordinate inter-sectoral projects and improve governance.
• The private sector impacts health through misaligned research and development priorities,
environmental degradation, and products with negative health impacts.
HEALTH-SENSITIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
• Health-sensitive indicators across all sustainable development dimensions will help drive and
measure programmes leading to more accountability and improved governance. Some
examples are listed below:
Themes Relevant Health or Health-sensitive Indicators
Social Pillar Rates of: unemployment, educational attainment, substance abuse,
disability (physical and mental health)
Environmental Pillar Deaths due to: diarrheal disease, air pollution or natural disasters
Economic Pillar GINI coefficient of income inequality, proportion of Gross Domestic
Product spent on health and social services, income lost due to illness
Agriculture, Nutrition and
Food Security
Rates of: under- and over-nourishment, access to nutritious food
Transport and Cities Rates of: traffic fatalities, homicides, access to sanitation and clean
water, access to active transport
Gender Income inequality, expected educational attainment, healthy life
expectancy
Energy Per capita energy consumption, type and source of energy use, deaths
attributed to indoor air pollution
• Sustainable Development Indicators must be disaggregated by gender, age, location
(including rural/urban), people living with disabilities, educational background, economic
quintile, and relevant social groups to measure whether the framework reaches the poorest
and most vulnerable populations
• The health data disparity must be closed. More than 25 countries do not keep accurate birth
and death records while others have national electronic health records.
• More frequent measurements are needed: annually → monthly → real-time
SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION TOWARDS UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
• Healthy systems make healthy populations.
• Health systems must be blind to socio-economic status.
• Universal health coverage will strengthen economies, improve population health outcomes and
enhance international relations.
• Strong health systems complement disease-specific programmes because they address
the social, environmental and economic determinants of illness and well-being.
• Access to health care and the quality of health services are equally important.
Health can be the cross-cutting issue of sustainable development. High-quality indicators exist and
targets can be set to incorporate Health in all Policies into the new development framework. The
global development community already measures and uses many of these indicators but does not link
them together. Health is the foundation upon which the three pillars of sustainable development are
unified.
The IFMSA asks you to commit to embedding health in the Sustainable Development Goals. We seek
to work with you on health and youth policy. The 1.3 million future physicians that we represent
recognize that disease and disability prevention and global development are an integral part of
modern medical practice.
Please help us to advocate for:
• Health in all Policies
• Health-sensitive Sustainable Development Indicators
• Systems Transformation toward Universal Health Coverage
--
Contact information:
Roopa Dhatt, IFMSA President
+15105207193 | president@ifmsa.org
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations | www.ifmsa.org