SDG3 Good Health and Well-Being

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to the right to health today, being responsible for 7 million premature deaths each year. Air pollutants also contribute directly to the climate crisis, endangering health and livelihoods of generations current and future.

The leishmaniases are a complex group of devastating diseases with a wide clinical spectrum that annually affects more than 1 million people throughout 98 countries, leading to approximately 20,000 deaths per year in its most severe form, the visceral leishmaniasis. Additionally, most endemic regions comprise communities living under substandard conditions, with low income and social-economic standards.

COVID-19 has caused profound damage to human health, societies and economies in every corner of the world. This illness is zoonotic, a type of disease that transmits between animals and humans. It may be the worst, but it is not the first. We already know that 60 per cent of known infectious diseases in humans and 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. Ebola, SARS, the Zika virus and bird flu all came to people by way of animals.

COVID-19 has had a serious impact on all parts of our society, and waste management is no exception. Waste management in developing countries is usually not operated in accordance with international standards, and so there have been additional difficulties with an increased amount of potentially infected waste which requires additional, careful handling and treatment processes.

According to the World Health Organization, each year an estimated 7 million premature deaths – or 1 in every 9 – are attributed to the joint effects of household and outdoor air pollution. In addition to the impacts on human health, some air pollutants affect ecosystems, threaten food and water security and contribute to climate change. Air pollution is a pressing sustainability concern specified in Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being), 7 (clean energy), 11 (sustainable cities), 12 (sustainable consumption and production) and 13 (climate action).

Most of malaria infection in sub-Saharan Africa occurs indoors and at night. In 2018, this region accounted for 213 million malaria cases and 380,700 malaria-related deaths. Malaria has consequences for the health status of the population, as well as in education, production, economy, and development.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of infectious diseases that affect more than one billion people in 149 countries with millions of others at risk. The official list of NTDs prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) currently consists of 17 infectious diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions.

This project investigates the implementation and operation of the National Minimum Wage Act, 9 of 2018 through a qualitative small-scale study of the domestic work and garment sectors in South Africa. The broad research aims are to understand how labour laws apply in informal workplace settings (or spaces where labour law does not commonly operate), and the processes and strategies used by workers and other relevant stakeholders in achieving improved working conditions.