SDG3+: From The Concept “Health In All Policies” To Its Implementation In Spain

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has a specific Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to health and well-being, SDG3, which aims to guarantee a healthy life and promote well-being for all. The approach ‘health in all policies’, proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), urges to consider the impact of public policies on the health of the population, showing that other SDGs different to SDG3 are also related to it. Therefore, a broad and transversal approach to health is proposed within the 2030 Agenda, which we call SDG3+.

Based on this approach, and after a participatory process, 6 dimensions have been identified to focus the Spanish efforts to improve the health of its population: gender, social determinants, environmental determinants and climate change, non-communicable diseases and mental health, health and social system and the global dimension of health and international cooperation; although after the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the addition of emergent infectious diseases is also considered. Analyzing the indicators related to these dimensions, areas for potential improvement have been identified for the next decade for this country, being essential to adopt a transversal approach that considers the impact on health of all public policies, in all sectors and in all actions.