Ensuring Healthy Lives and Promoting Well-being for All

The United Nations introduced the Sustainable Development Goals a universal agenda consisting of 17 goals aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring peace and prosperity for all by the year 2030 (Nations., 2024). Among them, SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages stands out as the most directly related to the nursing profession. Nurses, forming the largest part of the global health workforce, play a pivotal role in achieving this goal through clinical practice and intervention, education, leadership, and advocacy. This article aims to highlights Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being, how nurses contribute to SDG 3, the challenges face by nurses, and strategies to enhance their impact (Bankole et al., 2023).

SDG 3 targets a wide aspect of health concerns, aiming to:

• Decreased maternal mortality to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
• Reduced preventable deaths of newborns and children under the age of 5 years.
• Combat with communicable diseases such as hepatitis, HIV AIDS and tuberculosis.
• Decreased mortality from non-communicable diseases by one-third.
• Attain universal health coverage, including financial risk protection and access to essential health care services.

In 2021, the global health landscape continued to face major challenges and barriers, with almost five million children under the age of five losing their lives, and the causes of that were mostly preventable through early medical treatment and basic health care services. Non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and cancers remained the leading cause of mortality, contributing to 74% of all deaths worldwide many of which were linked to modifiable lifestyle behaviors and inadequate access to quality care (Numaguchi et al., 2022). Compounding these problems is a persistent global shortage of health care workers, which continues to hinder progress toward achieving universal health coverage, particularly in low-resource settings and how Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being.

Nurses are vital to addressing each aspect of SDG 3. Their scope of practice, whether in hospitals, communities, schools, or policymaking bodies, makes them essential contributors.

1. Direct Clinical Care

Nurses ensure safe, high-quality care across the lifespan from prenatal care and childbirth assistance to chronic disease management and end-of-life support.

• Example: In maternal health, nurses contribute to early detection of complications, timely referrals, and health education, directly reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.

2. Community Engagement and Health Promotion

Nurses are community educators and public health ambassadors. They organize awareness campaigns, vaccination drives, and health screenings in urban and rural settings.

• Example: In Pakistan’s polio eradication campaigns, nurses have played a key role in building trust and delivering immunizations in high-risk areas.

3. Leadership and Policy Advocacy

Nurse leaders influence health systems and policies through leadership roles in hospital management, professional associations, and government health bodies.

• Example: Nurse policymakers advocate for patient safety protocols, nurse-patient ratios, and funding for preventive care programs aligned with SDG 3 targets.

4. Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Nurses conduct and apply research to improve health outcomes and develop cost-effective care models.

• Example: Studies led by nurse researchers on pain management and early intervention in myocardial infarction have informed protocols that reduce hospital readmissions and improve patient quality of life.

At a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, a nurse-led outpatient hypertension clinic was established. Through regular follow-ups, medication adherence counseling, and lifestyle modification sessions, patients showed a 25% improvement in blood pressure control over six months. This directly supports the Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being target of reducing premature mortality from NCDs.

Despite their contributions, nurses encounter several challenges that limit their impact:

• Workforce shortages: Many countries face a critical shortage of trained nurses.
• Limited autonomy: Nurses often have limited decision-making power in clinical and policy settings.
• Inadequate training and resources: Continued education on global health priorities is lacking.
• Gender disparities: As a predominantly female workforce, nurses face systemic discrimination and underrepresentation in leadership roles.

Invest in Nursing Education: Enhance curricula to include SDGs, global health, and leadership skills.

1. Promote Nurse Leadership: Include nurses in policy-making at institutional and national levels.
2. Support Nurse-Led Research: Fund and publish nurse-led studies aligned with SDG 3 targets.
3. Ensure Safe Staffing Ratios: Regulate workload to improve patient outcomes and nurse retention.
4. Global Collaboration: Encourage participation in international nursing forums addressing SDG challenges.

Nurses are the backbone of healthcare systems and the driving force behind ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being. By empowering nurses through education, policy inclusion, and leadership opportunities, we can accelerate progress toward global health and well-being. As healthcare professionals and advocates, nurses must continue to lead efforts in prevention, care, and community engagement. Achieving to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being SDG 3 by 2030 is ambitious but with nurses at the forefront, it is within reach.

By,
Imtiaz Afridi
RN,Dip-Card,Dip-E&DM,BSc-N(DOW-Goldmedalist) ,MSc-N(AKU-Scholar)
Advanced Health Sciences Institute of Nursing Karachi