The Do-able Dozen: Addressing chronic disease risks in poor countries would make a huge difference to our world
Published by Project Syndicate
When famine strikes, governments and international donors step in with life-saving aid. And rich countries give more than $130 billion each year not only to feed the starving, but also to build crucial infrastructure and reduce gaps in access to education, health care, and clean water and sanitation worldwide.
All of this is vitally important. But one of the most powerful investments the development community could make is not in today’s problems, but in research that will address tomorrow’s challenges.
t’s easy to think of starvation as a challenge that entered the rich world’s consciousness in the 1980s and was largely solved through charity rock concerts. True, the world has made huge progress in combating mass starvation over the past 30 years, largely as a result of improved agricultural practices. Yet, globally, food deprivation still claims a child’s life every three seconds.
Published by National Post
Between 2000 and 2015 the world made great progress on the Millennium Development Goals, which aimed to hit important targets in education, income growth, fighting disease and so on. In 2015, world leaders followed up that success by establishing the Sustainable Development Goals, a hodge-podge of 169 priorities. We’re now halfway to the target date of 2030 and, not surprisingly, progress has been minimal. In part, COVID setbacks are to blame but the crucial problem is lack of focus.