Interactions between Health and the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Landry Egbende (), Daniel Helldén, Branly Mbunga, Mattias Schedwin, Benito Kazenza, Nina Viberg, Rhoda Wanyenze, Mapatano Mala Ali and Tobias Alfvén
Additional contact information
Landry Egbende: Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Daniel Helldén: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Branly Mbunga: Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mattias Schedwin: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Benito Kazenza: Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nina Viberg: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden
Rhoda Wanyenze: Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7072, Uganda
Mapatano Mala Ali: Department of Nutrition, Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tobias Alfvén: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: A systematic and contextualized assessment of the interactions between the Sustainable Development Goals and health in the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently lacking. This study aimed to characterize and classify the linkages between the Sustainable Development Goals in the DRC with a focus on health and well-being. In this semi-qualitative participatory study, 35 experts assessed 240 interactions between 16 of the 17 SDGs during a two-day workshop in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, using a scale from +3 (strongly promoting) to −3 (strongly restricting). SDG 16 (Peace, justice, and strong institutions) had the strongest promoting influence on other goals and was identified as a key priority for the DRC to attain the SDGs. Progress on SDG 3 (good health and well-being) was perceived as promoting progress on most SDGs, and through second-order interactions, a positive feedback loop was identified. Furthermore, progress on the other SDGs was deemed to promote progress on SDG 3, with SDG 16 having the greatest positive potential when second-order interactions were taken into account. Our results show the importance of recognizing synergies and trade-offs concerning the interactions between health and other SDGs and that it is imperative to set up structures bringing together different sectors to accelerate work towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Keywords: interactions; health and well-being; sustainable development goals; DRC; peace; justice; and strong institutions; multisectoral collaboration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1259-:d:1030191

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