Blog Post 4 - Spain

In today’s blog we will be learning about Spain and how they are working towards providing better health for their country. Spain is located in Europe and is considered the 52^nd largest nation in the world with 505,370 kilometers in total. (Where is Spain, 2015) Spain is known for its beautiful sight seeing locations and the many cities that tourists enjoy visiting. Although it is a beautiful country, they are still working on improving the well-being of their country. They have done a review of the SDG’s to have a better understanding what the situation is like in their country. 

They have reviewed the third SDG goal and have some things to improve. They have determined that they need to focus on creating new measures to “prevent and respond appropriately to disabilities, reducing their impact on individual health, and promoting quality of life and integration in the activities of society.” (Spain’s report for the 2018 voluntary national review) The have pointed out a few issues such as poor diet and other factors that are affecting the health of the population of different ages. They have come up with a few solutions to address these targets such as having campaigns on having healthy lifestyle. With this target they want to limit the use of alcohol, tobacco, and promote exercise. They also would like to have community interventions to inform the community about their health in hopes of lowering the rates of premature mortality and non-communicable diseases. Spain is working closely with the Council of the National Health System; when Spain comes up with a strategy on how they wish to approach a certain target they must get their approval, and once that is done, they are able to proceed with their plans. It is not clear what other resources they are relying on, but I assume that they are creating programs to focus on each target. 

In order to make sure that these SDG’s are being monitored 
they are working with a congress of deputies, who are in charge of making sure that targets are being met as accurately as possible. They have also created the “Millennium Fund in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)”. (Spain’s report for the 2018 voluntary national review) It is not stated how much they intend to invest in this, but they are aware that different projects will need to be funded. 

Spain is conscious that there are many factors that contribute to the well-being of people, one of these factors is climate change; “urban pollution is an example of a situation producing negative impacts on health.” (Spain’s report for the 2018 voluntary national review) pollution can affect the health of many because it can cause many complications. This is an issue in Spain which is why they have approached this by encouraging people to be more aware and find ways to reduce pollution. They believe that by reducing pollution they can encourage the community to engage in more physical activities; which will help them reach their target. This sustainable development goal is a priority and it is currently being addressed in Spain. They are monitoring closely each SDG and making sure that they are doing everything they can to make sure that they are working towards a better country. 

Sources:

Where is Spain? (2015, October 2). Retrieved from 
https://www.worldatlas.com/eu/es/where-is-spain.html

Sustainable Development Goals. 

(2018). Spain’s Report For The 2018 Voluntary National Review [PDF file]. 

Retrieved from      https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/203295182018_VNR_Report_Spain_EN_ddghpbrgsp.pdf

[Image of España Sustainable Development] (2019). Retrieved From

http://reds-sdsn.es/dialogo-agenda-2030-espana-sustainable-development-report-2019

[Image SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being - Statistics Explained] (2019). Retrieved from

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:SDG_3_tachometer_2019.gif

Blog Post 3 - Belize

The country we will be focusing on is Belize. Belize is located on the Western edge of the Caribbean Sea. Like many other countries, Belize is a beautiful country with many natural wonders; and like most countries they are working hard to “end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.” (Belize-Sustainable development,2017.) They have come up with strategies to improve Goal #3 which is good health and well-being. They have created an outline of things they would like to improve by 2030. Among those things are, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live birth rates; end preventable death of newborns and children under 5 years of age, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases; promote mental health and well-being, strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, and provide health coverage for most. They have a lot of targets that they would like to achieve by 2030 and in order to do this they will have to monitor the SDG. They are working closely with the Ministry of Health. Through the Ministry of Health, they have suppliers who will supply them with vaccines and anything that they may need. This will help vaccinate and treat those who truly need it. By having the resources, they need they will be able to improve the health and reach their target.  They have also developed a Drug Inspectorate Unit to monitor pharmaceutical and manufacturing activities in Belize. (Belize-Sustainable development,2017. ) This is important, because they will be able to keep track of what is being used and who is using it. The Government of Belize has increased the amount of funds that is needed in order to expand their health. In order to make this possible the Ministry of Health, has increased the budget to 6% of gross domestic product. This will help in providing the funds they need in order to train staff, have workshops, conferences, and seminars. This will help them reach out and inform others about their health. Although they have come up with approaches to better their health, they also need to focus on climate change and how this may affect their approaches. Between 1998 and 2017 it estimated that more than one million people died, and about four billion were injured due to climate change. (UNDP in Belize.) 

They have come up with a resolution to help with climate change, they want to raise funds in order to help those countries with lower resources and assist them in adapting to climate change as well as helping them invest in low-carbon development. This could be an issue for the country, because if climate change is not addressed not only will SDG #3 affected, but other SDG’s will also be affected. Belize is working closely with the Department of the Environment who are trying to control the pollution in that country.Countries must rely on resources to accomplish reaching the goals they have set. Some of the resources that Belize is counting on is the ministry of health, the ministry of education, and the national drug abuse control council. They are all working together to educate those who have little not no knowledge about their health, they are specifically focused on teaching children and young adults about their health. This sustainable development goal is currently being addressed by the country; they are trying to find solutions to the challenges they are facing in order for there to be an improvement. This goal is currently a priority along with SGD’s 1,5, and 14. 

Sources:

Belize’s Voluntary National Review for the sustainable development goals. (2017). Belize – Sustainable Development- the United Nations [PDF file]. Retrieved from 

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/16389Belize.pdf

Goal 13: Climate Action: UNDP in Belize. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.bz.undp.org/content/belize/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-13-climate-action.html

[Cartoon of Well being Sustainable goal 3] (2018). Retrieved from

https://sensetribe.com/2018/09/25/sdg3-wellbeing/

Plant, I. (2013). [Photograph Middle Silke Caye, Gladden Spit and Silke Cayes Marine Reserve] Retrieved from
https://www.popphoto.com/belize/2013/05/traveling-photographer-belize/