Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Achieving SDG 3 requires far more than expanding hospitals and clinics. It depends on safe water and sanitation that prevent disease before it starts (SDG 6), the reduction of poverty that determines whether families can afford care and nutritious food (SDG 1), and the gender equality that determines whether women control decisions over their own bodies and pregnancies (SDG 5).
Most acutely, the goal is now threatened by funding pressures on several fronts at once. Decades of gains in maternal survival, HIV treatment and child health were built on a combination of domestic health financing, health-system capacity and sustained international investment — and international funding, in particular, is now retreating just as needs are rising. Reversing the decline in development assistance for health (SDG 17), alongside strengthening domestic financing and health systems, is fast becoming a decisive test of whether progress made since 2000 can be sustained through to 2030.
Progress on SDG 3 is mixed, with substantial gains offset by signs that momentum is slowing just as funding retreats. The global maternal mortality ratio fell from 328 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 197 in 2023, but progress remains far short of the 2030 target of 70, and roughly 260,000 women still died of pregnancy-related causes in 2023 — one every two minutes. Low-income countries recorded 346 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births against just 10 in high-income countries. Skilled birth attendance rose from 80 per cent in 2015 to 87 per cent in 2025, putting the world on track against the 90 per cent coverage benchmark used for 2030 — a benchmark tracked alongside target 3.1, rather than one of its own formal numerical targets.
Under-five mortality fell to 37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, a 51 per cent decline since 2000, though 4.9 million children still died before their fifth birthday. On HIV, new infections have fallen 30 per cent and AIDS-related deaths 35 per cent since 2015, yet 1.3 million new infections in 2024 were little changed from the prior year, and more than 9 million people living with HIV remain without antiretroviral treatment — a figure that includes both those diagnosed but not yet on treatment and those never diagnosed.
Reproductive health indicators continue to improve, with modern contraceptive use reaching 886 million women and their partners in 2026, 78 million more than in 2015. Meanwhile, official development assistance for health has fallen back to 2015 levels, with further cuts projected. The full picture of official indicators is tracked by the UN Statistics Division in its annual SDG progress report.
The primary annual flagship report tracking SDG 3 is the World Health Statistics report, published by WHO each May, which compiles official data across all health-related SDG indicators; the 2026 edition, released in May 2026, warned that the world is falling short of — and in places reversing — its health targets. On HIV specifically, UNAIDS publishes its Global AIDS Update each July, ahead of the International AIDS Conference, tracking new infections, treatment coverage and funding for the global HIV response.
The primary intergovernmental forum is the World Health Assembly (WHA), WHO’s supreme decision-making body, which meets each May in Geneva. The Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79) took place 18–23 May 2026; the Eightieth session is expected in May 2027. SDG 3 progress is also reviewed annually at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) each July in New York.
These organisations hold the lead mandates on global health governance, HIV, reproductive and child health, and health financing under SDG 3.
By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births
Maternal mortality ratio
Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births
Under-5 mortality rate
Neonatal mortality rate
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age and key populations
Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population
Malaria incidence per 1,000 population
Hepatitis B incidence per 100,000 population
Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases
By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease
Suicide mortality rate
Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders
Alcohol per capita consumption (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year in litres of pure alcohol
By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
Death rate due to road traffic injuries
By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods
Adolescent birth rate (aged 10–14 years; aged 15–19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group
Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
Coverage of essential health services
Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income
By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution
Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services)
Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoning
Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate
Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older
Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all
Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national programme
Total net official development assistance to medical research and basic health sectors
Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis
Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States
Health worker density and distribution
Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparedness
Percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms
Gender — Global
Work can liberate women and transform societies, but employment alone is not enough. As digital, green, and demographic transitions reshape labor markets, the challenge is to ensure that every woman has access to decent work, rights, security, and opportunity
Humanitarian aid — Middle East and Northern Africa
How the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award is advancing global solutions to water scarcity through innovation, recognition, and impact
Climate — Global
More frequent extreme weather events, as well as gradual changes to the global climate, are increasingly harming people and economies. Integrating climate risk into economic management can help unlock the finance needed to build resilience and protect progress towards the SDGs
Cities — Europe, Global
Safe, affordable water in urban areas is central to sustainable development, yet progress remains uneven. To close this gap, cities need to adopt integrated, evidence-based approaches that build resilient and equitable services in practice
Gender — Global
Education can be a powerful force for shifting unequal gender norms, but schools do not transform them automatically. Embedding gender equality in education systems at scale – and defending that work against growing backlash – requires sustained political commitment, institutional reform, and public support
Gender — Global
As climate litigation gathers force, women are helping to redefine what accountability looks like – and exposing how far climate policy still is from delivering gender justice
Gender — Global, Sub-Saharan Africa
When climate solutions fit local realities, they can restore ecosystems, strengthen food security, reduce vulnerability for women and expand their economic agency
Economic development
Europe has not abandoned the Green Deal – its flagship strategy for climate neutrality and shared prosperity – but it risks hollowing it out. As implementation pressures mount, the question is not whether the vision survives on paper, but whether it can still deliver a fair, system-wide transformation aligned with the SDGs
Food systems and sustainable agriculture
As climate shocks multiply and conflicts strain supply chains, the world’s food systems are showing dangerous cracks. Building resilience – from farm diversity to fairer trade – must be at the heart of climate action at COP30
Economic development
“Leave no one behind,” the central tenet of the SDGs, underlines the importance of tackling inequality as countries strive to achieve the Global Goals. Rampant inequality is connected to setbacks in other areas, from democratic backsliding and the weakening rule of law to sluggish action on climate
