Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, no country was on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The pandemic, compounded by multiple ongoing crises, has now stalled and even reversed countries’ progress towards the global goals.  

Established in 2019, the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All (SDG3 GAP) is a set of commitments by 13 multilateral agencies to strengthen their collaboration. The SDG3 GAP offers a platform for collaboration, available to all countries, to support an equitable and resilient recovery towards the health-related SDGs. By deepening and scaling new ways of collaborating, SDG3 GAP multilateral agencies can achieve greater impact and improve efficiencies in aligning their assistance with country-led strategies.

SDG3 GAP country-facing teams are working with governments to bring the Plan to life at country level, with support from regional and global collaboration structures and communities of practice. Recovery efforts in countries include bolstering sustainably financed primary health care (PHC) systems to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), delivering on maternal and child health, preventing noncommunicable diseases and strengthening countries’ capacities to avert and respond to disease outbreaks. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that much can be achieved with strong partnerships, including the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which resolves to leave no one behind. Stronger multilateral collaboration is one way to support countries’ accelerated progress towards the health-related SDGs.

To contact the SDG3 GAP Secretariat, please write to
SDG3_Secretariat@who.int