| Azlan Othman |
BRUNEI Darussalam is faring better than some of the fast developing countries in meeting health-related targets set by the United Nations (UN), according to a global health review published on Wednesday.
Published by The Lancet medical journal, the study ranked Brunei 25th among 188 countries in terms of progress towards meeting the UN’s health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – health targets that include goals for infant mortality rates, smoking, vaccination, universal health coverage and rates of diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, among others.
Researchers measured 37 health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators from 1990 to 2016 for each country and then projected indicators for 2030.
Singapore, Iceland and Sweden are the best-performing countries in terms of health-related Sustainable Development Goals, according to the review.
The Sultanate levelled with the USA, Spain and Austria with an overall score of 74 out of 100 and came fourth best in the Asia-Pacific after Singapore (1st place), Canada (12th), and Japan (21st).
At the other end of the table, the worst-performing countries included Somalia, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan, which all scored just 11 out of 100.
Brunei Darussalam scored well for its achievements in lowering child mortality rates (100), controlling incidences of malaria (100), lowering alcohol use (99), reducing air pollution mortality (90), water supply (96), sanitation (98), hygiene (97) and vaccine coverage (97).
However, more work needs to be done for other indicators such as road injury mortality, adolescent birth rate and in tackling child abuse cases, as it fares lower than other countries, the study said.
Overall, the study also found that none of the countries are on track to meet the UN target of eliminating new tuberculosis infections by 2030, and also found that low-income countries are finding it harder to meet the targets. At the same time, less than five per cent of countries are likely to reach the UN goal of reducing suicides, road deaths and child obesity by that date, and only seven per cent would likely eliminate new HIV infections.
Overall, only a fifth of 37 health-related targets set under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adopted in 2015, is likely to be met, according to the review.
“A number of targets remained out of reach for most countries,” the authors of the study said.
Under the review, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, more than 2,500 researchers from around the world scored the health progress of 188 countries, and projected their trajectory to 2030.
“Based on past rates of progress, many places are facing challenges in meeting defined health-related SDG targets, particularly among countries that are the worst off,” the authors said in the study.
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